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CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
3 1924 067 290
001
CHINA.
IMPERIAL MARITIME CUSTOMS.
1 1. -SPECIAL SERIES: No. 6.
G H I N E S E M U S I C
J. A. VAN AALST
(Chinese Imperial Customs Sermce).
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CHINA.
IMPERIAL MARITIME CUSTOMS.
I. -SPECIAL SERIES: No. 6.
CHINESE MUSIC.
BT
J. A. VAN AALST
(Chinese Impericd CustoTns Service).
PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF
SHANGHAI :
PUBLISHED AT THE STATISTICAL DEPAETMENT OF THE INSPECTORATE GENERAL OF CUSTOM.':
AND SOLD BY
Messrs. KELLY & WALSH, SHANGHAI, YOKOHAMA, AND HONGKONG.
LONDON : p. s. king & SON, Canada building, king street, Westminster, s.w.
INTRODUCTION.
The Chinese have the reputation of being a strange people, with
a peculiar language, peculiar institutions, customs, and manners, utterly
dififerent from those of our Western countries.
Since Chinese ports were thrown open to foreigners, the influx of
visitors of all kinds has continually" increased. Missionaries, diplomats,
travellers — some led there by duty, others attracted by the prospect of a
new field for studies, and others guided by mere curiosity — have crossed
the country in all directions. From these visits has resulted a large
number of books — relations of travels, descriptions of country, customs,
and manners — books on any subject, all tending to acquaint Western
nations with the wonderful Celestial Empire, and, principally, to point out
the immense difference existing between Chinese and European ideas.
Amongst the subjects which have been treated with the least
success by foreign writers, Chinese Music ranks prominently. If men-
tioned at all in their books, it is simply to remark that "it is detestable,
noisy, monotonous ; that it hopelessly outrages our Western notions of
music," etc. I do not wish to create any discussions by contradicting
these and many other erroneous statements found in descriptions of
Chinese Music : it would take too long a time.
In the description I give here I will endeavour to point out the
contrasts or similarity between Western and Chinese Music, to present
abstruse theories in the least tiresome way, to add details never before
published, and to give a short yet concise account of Chinese Music.
IV CHINESE MUSIC.
I am not pretentious enough to think that my work will be utterly
irreproachable. Mistakes are so easily made ; and if I have just alluded
to the many mistakes which are found in books, it is merely with the
intention of showing how careful we must be when writing, and, much
more, how indulgent we need be towards the writings of others.
I should deem it unfair not to mention that Mr. Hippisley, one
of our Commissioners of Customs, is entitled to my most sincere gratitude
for his kindness in reading the manuscript and correcting the many faults
which ordinarily slip from one's pen when attempting to write in any but
one's own language.
J. A. VAN AAL.ST.
CHINESE MUSIC.
ON ANCIENT MUSIC.
The origin of music may from its nature be attributed to times coeval with the
appearance of man on earth. Indeed, what is music ? Listen to the accents of Nature ! Hear
the murmur of streams, the whisper of trees' leaves, the moaning of winds, the distant rolling
of thunder, the resounding majesty of the ocean ! Notice the bleating of the timid sheep, the
lowing of herds, the singiag of the lark, the animated cadence of the nightingale ! What are
all those voices but music, but a concert — a hymn which impresses the soul and elevates it to
the ideal of infinite beauty ?
When man began to contemplate the vast universe, his attention was naturally directed
to harmonious Nature. The singing of birds, above aU, must have deeply impressed him and
led him to vocal imitation. In the course of time he contrived to combine the natural sounds
of his voice into a system, to arrange them into melodies agreeable to the ear, and, finally, to
make instnmients by which the melodies could be rendered.
Mythology shows us Oephetjs, on the Thracian mountains, submitting the forest monsters
to the power of his lyre; Abion escaping submersion; Amphion building cities. If we open
the annals of history we find Ftj Hsi playing on the ch'in ; Timotheus subjugating Aiexaxdek ;
the rustic Spartans proscribing every art except music ; the same Spartans, often defeated, led
to victory by the songs of the Athenian Tybt^us. In the Holy Scriptures we are told of
TtJBAi Cain, the sixth descendant from Cain, manufacturing instruments; of Moses singing
a hynm with accompaniment of timbrels, after the passage of the Red Sea ; and of King David
playing on the harp. The Egyptian history mentions Ptolemy Pheladelphus employing a
band of 600 musicians to celebrate the feast of Bacchus ; and Ptolemy Auletes, or the flute-
player, competing in his own palace with the greatest professional musicians.
Indeed, no nation on earth has existed that did not love that enchanting art, however
rude and artless the primitive systems may have been. It is everywhere an instinct of Nature,
a want of the soul ; it is found in the camps, in the forests, in the gilded palaces of the despots
of the East, in the meadows of America ; it cheers solitude ; it charms society ; it animates at
the same time war and pastoral life.
The Greeks, the Chinese, and aU the ancient nations speak of the mysterious influence
of music; and stiQ their systems, if compared with ours, were only imperfect embryos. But
it cannot be denied that the national music of every country, however simple it may be, has
a mystic influence on the passions of its inhabitants ; some airs are principally capable of raising
or depressing the spirits, of causing an electrical commotion in the hearts of the auditors.
Great discussions have arisen on the subject of Ancient Music, but, in spite of many
learned researches, commentaries, and theories, we cannot boast of knowing much about it ; and
1
2 CHINESE MUSIC.
many a brave man is still racking his brains, and will succumb before having resolved th&
question and having learned more on the subject than what has been handed down to us by
Ptolemjeus, Plutarch, and Plato.
From what we know of Greek music we can infer that it was simply a system for
regulating the movements of dances, pantomimes, and poetry; so the mysterious influence
spoken of may have been due more to the words and gestures than to the sounds themselves;
The Greeks had several gamuts with an irregular distribution of intervals. Of those gamuts,
some were used for music of a solemn character ; some were adapted to merry, lively, martial
music; and some others to music of a soft and pathetic character. As for the notation, the
alphabetical letters alone were used ; harmony, modulation, and even melody (as we understand
it) were unknown. Their music was divided into three principal kinds : the efifxiXeia, or
church music; the ctIkivvk, for grotesque occasions; and the KopSa^, for dancing. All this
is equally applicable to Chinese music, as wiU be shown hereafter.
Music is in principle romantic and fanciful, and therefore it is closely related to religion.
Everywhere where polytheism or idolatry has existed we find music occupying only a subordinate
position, the highest rank being given to the plastic art — to sculpture; whereas among the
nations whose worship was of a more spiritual character we find music occupying the first
place. Indeed, the Hebrews, although often tainted with idolatry, possessed the most advanced
system of their time ; and the Chinese worshippers of Shang-ti have a kind of music unknown
to the adherents of Buddha and Tao. On the other hand, the uncivilised, idolatrous nations
have scarcely any musical system.
It is an uncontested fact that music has gradually risen and progressed with Christianity.
Through its character of ineffable spiritualism, the art of sounds alone was able to render the
Christian idea of an uncreated God. Antiquity appealed to the plastic arts for representations
of its gods, because those gods never ceased to affect the forms and passions of humanity ;
but a religion of abnegation and mystic contemplation required as interpreter an art whose
aspiration is unbounded, whose element is impalpable, as music.
During the first three centuries of our era, ^yhen Christians were exposed to persecu-
tions and had to conceal themselves to pray, music had of course but little place in worship ;
but in the 4th century, when Christian perseverance had overpowered the cruel paganism,
Ambrosius, archbishop of MUan, adopted four of the Greek gamuts for the liturgical music of
the church.
Some additions to the number of scales were made \ij Pope GREGORy during the 6th
century ; but the greatest improvements, principally the system of notation on a stave, are due
to GuiDO d'Arezzo, a Benedictine monk of the nth century.
It was only duriag the 13th century that harmonic chords first came into use; until
then singing was all in unison. But the most important revolution in modern music was effected
during the last years of the 17th century, when the two great divisions, major and minor, were
introduced. Since then our system has continually progressed, and all the mysteries of the
world of sounds have been brought to light.
CHINESE MUSIC. 3
Our present complicated system of music is tlius comparatively modem.
If ancient music exercised a magic influence on its hearers, what shall we say of our
modern art, which elevates its admirers to the highest pitch of idealism to which imagination
can be brought; whose romance transports us out of our spheres, out of the Umited circle
of our knowledge ; whose accents make us shed tears when the subject is sad, tremble when
it is terrible, love when it is tender, admire when it is great, adore when it is divine ? This
accounts for the irresistible attraction exercised by music on those feminine, weak, timid natures,
which a continual musing elevates above the tribulations of this world. Woman, endowed with
the most exquisite feeling of sensitiveness, loves music with passion, because, like her, it softens
the manners, disarms force by grace, briags nearer and binds together the different elements
of society.
It also accounts for the instinctive aversion felt by those positive minds, those unbelievers,
who consider music as an organised row, a kind of noise submitted to the most delirious rules
and expressed by means of an artillery of instruments called pianos, trombones, comets, etc.,
which, they say, are best adapted to drive one mad or to make one appreciate surdity.
Fortunately for the fine arts, this unfeehng part of mankind is by far the smallest, and
their indifference hardly affects the enthusiasm of others.
Plato says that music affected considerably the constitution of the State; Confucius
was of the same opinion. Indeed, aU skHful politicians, all wise rulers, are aware that they
must not look upon their subjects as abstractions, moving them about like the pawns on a
chess-board, without considering that men have senses ; that these senses create passions ; that
the science of governing men is simply the science of guiding their feelings; that the basis
of all human institutions rests on pubHc and private customs ; and that the fine arts are
essentially of a moral character, since they render the man who cultivates them better and
happier. And what is health but the essence of happiness, the result of internal contentment,
the peaceful feehngs of the soul manifested on the exterior envelope of man.
This dissertation may seem out of place in an article on Chinese music. Nevertheless
it is a fact that the Chinese have had the very same ideas; and this consideration, taken in
connexion with several astonishing similarities between all the ancient systems, wiU re-enforce
the belief of music's common origin.
CHINESE MUSIC.
ON CHINESE MUSIC.
Music in China has undoubtedly been known since the remotest antiquity. It is said
to have been invented by the Emperor Fu Hsi (B.C. 2852) ; but the invention of music can
scarcely be attributed to anybody. The revelation of it must have proceeded from man's
admiration of Nature. It is, say the Chmese, the essence of the harmony existing between
heaven, earth, and man ; and since we believe that all human beings come forth from Adam '
and subsequently from Noah, we may reasonably infer that the chiefs of each of the great
families carried with them the principles of the then existing music ; these principles, differently
influenced by the more or less artistic skiU of the different nations, have formed the various
systems, which at first seem diametrically opposed, but which, when compared and deprived
of their special and characteristic individuality, show such coincidence, such striking similarities,
as to render their common origin indubitable.
The first invaders of Chiaa^ certainly brought with them certain notions of music. The
aborigines themselves^ had also some kind of musical system, which their conquerors admired
and probably mixed with their own.
We read in the jg .^ (T'vmg-tien) that the music of the Emperor Fu Hsi was called ^ >$£
(fu-lai) or j3; ^ (li-pen) ; that of the Emperor Shbn Nung, ^ S^ (fii^t'^) or f HE (hsia-mou) ;
and that of the Emperor Huang Ti, /^ ^ (hsieri-chih), or the " all-pervading influence."^ What
the real meaning of these names was is not known, and they may be compared to the obscure
musical terms of the Bible. At that time music was not regulated by any laws ; each Emperor
had his own system, and they did not always agree.* Beginning with Huang Ti, " the Yellow
Emperor " (B.C. 2697), Chinese music assumes its characteristic form. A certain note is taken'
as the base ; sounds are fixed, and receive names ; comparisons are drawn between the notes
and the celestial bodies ; music becomes a necessity in the State — a key to good government.
Huang Ti hears it.^ To obey the desire of his human nature, he renders it manifest through all
the Empire to comply with the wishes of heaven; he practises it, to be in accordance with
the rites of propriety; and he establishes it in the Empire, to render the people better and
happier. The succeediag Emperors followed the system of Huang Ti, and composed hymns:
the great Shun (B.C. 2255) composed the piece called Ta Shao, the very same which, 1,600
years later, so deeply impressed Confucius that for three months " he did not know the taste
of meat,"^ — that is, he was so captured by the beauty of the piece that for three months he
thought of nothing else. All the philosophers are unanimous in their praise of ancient music ;
■ They were a band of immigrants fighting their way amongst the aborigines, and supposed to have come from
the south of the Caspian Sea.
' The Li, the Kwi, and the FSng tribes, remnants of which are said to be still in existence in South China.
3 The j§ ^ (T'ung-tien), or " Complete Dictionary," by ^ fg (Tu Yu), says : f/lt ^ 11 ^ ^ Jj£ ^
B a: ;*:. i* «'i « ^ » ifl^ T as- 1 ^ f^ ^ ^•
" See Preface to the ^ ^ tf SS- ^^^'^'^ ^^7^ ■ ^^ Z>- ^ '^ M ^ ^ ^ ^.
'Seemmf^^^ M' chapter i3- ^ M ± ^ J^' Wi ± i^ %fT ± ^ M M, M Z Ki. :k 'M-
' See ffi ^, which says ■ ^ ^ ^ fM ^ 3 M J^ ^ ^ %■
CHINESE MUSIC. 5
it was eminently sweet and harmonious, and produced inexpressible sensations of pleasure in
the hearers. Therefore they lament and regret that it has been lost.^
It is most probable that the merits of ancient music consisted chiefly, like that of the
Greeks, in regulating the movements of dances and poetry. Indeed, the Chinese idea is that
music without poetry is no music at all.^
Music, says the Musical Recorder, proceeds from the heart of man.* The harmony of
the heart produces the harmony of the breath, the harmony of the breath produces that of the
voice, and the voice is the emblem of the harmony existing between heaven and earth.*
According to' Chinese ideas, , music rests on two fundamental principles — the jpf jj^
(sMn-li), or spiritual, immaterial priaciple, and the ^ ^ (ch'i-shu), or substantial form. AH
natural productions are represented by unity ; all that requires perfecting at the hands of man
is classed under the generic term ^ (wan), plurahty. Unity is above, it is heaven ; pluraht}
is below, it is earth. The immaterial principle is above, that is, it is inherent in material
bodies, and is considered their 2f; (pen), basis, origin. The material principle is below; it is
the J^ (hsing), form or figure of the sMn-li. The form is limited to its proper shape by
Jj; (shu), number, and it is subjected to the rule of the sMn-li. Therefore when the material
principle of music (that is, the instruments) is clearly and rightly illustrated, the corresponding-
spiritual principle (that is, the essence, the soimds of music) becomes perfectly manifest, and
the State's affairs are successfully conducted.
If all this seems obscure, the fault hes with the Chinese.
V Of aU the ancient music nothing remains except the above abstruse theories. The
Emperor She Huang-ti (B.C. 246), the destroyer of books, came ; he ordered the annihilation
of all books, with the exception of works on medicine, agriculture, and divination. The decree
was obeyed as faithfully as possible by an uneducated soldiery, who made it the pretext of
domiciliary visits, exactions, and pitiless destruction. Music-books and instruments shared the
same fate as every object which could give rise to any remembrance of past times,^ and
a long night of ignorance rested on the country, to such an extent that "at the rise of
the Han dynasty the great music-master, Chi, whose ancestors had for generations held the
same dignity, scarcely remembered anything about music but the noise of tinkling bells and
dancers' drums.*
Under the subsequent dynasties great efforts were made to revive music. Ancient books
and instruments were discovered in the places where they had been concealed at the time of
the destruction of books, new books were written, instruments made, but the frequent political
changes to which this country has been subject since the beginning of our era has not allowed
= ^ ^ s # ^ 4-
3 See ^ |g, chapter 17 of U-chi •• /L "f ' il S 6 A *& 4 4-
* i5 fn H"J ^ ^ ^ ii M'J ^ ^ ^ * Si: 3c Jl i: ft-
6 CHINESE MUSIC.
of much time being devoted to music. Moreover, the authors who then wrote on the subject
of music do not agree in their theories, and their successors have confused the different systems.
During the present dynasty the Emperors K'ang Hsi and ' Ch'ien Lung have done much to
bring music back to its old splendour, but their efforts cannot be said to have been very
successful. A total change has taken place in the ideas of that people which has been every-
where represented as unchangeable; they have changed, and so radically that the musical
art, which formerly always occupied the place of honour, is now deemed the lowest calling
a man can profess. There is stiU in Peking a Board of Music connected with the Board
of Eites (just as the Eomans had a college of flute-players), but the officers seem httle anxious
to distinguish themselves.
Serious music, which according to the classics is considered a necessary complement
of education, is totally abandoned. Very few Chinese are able to play on the ch'in, the sheng,
or the yiin-lo, and still fewer are acquainted with the theory of the liis.
Chinese music must be divided into two different kinds: ritual or sacred music, which
is passably sweet, and generally of a minor character ; and the theatrical or popular music.
The populace, as every foreigner in China has experienced, delights in the deafening
noise of the gong, accompanied by the shrieking tones of the clarionet; and such music requires
no scientific study. Who has not met a funeral or a wedding procession where four or five
clarionet-players blow their souls out with furious accompaniment of drums and gongs ? Let
it not be thought that the present Chinese do not hke music. They do everything in music :
they are born, they worship, they marry, and they die in music. Only they do not find it
dignified to perform it themselves, not even as "amateurs." The streets are continually
paraded by bands of two, three, or four musicians, mostly blind men, who go from gate to gate
offering 'their services.
Western music is not at all appreciated in China. The Chinaman seems to pity us
for being still so far back in this particular line when we have shown our superiority iii all
other branches of science. It may be very patriotic for the Chinese to have the best opinion
possible of their own music, but it will not prevent foreigners finding it monotonous, noisy,
and disagreeable.
ON THE LtJS.
The lus (!($. g) are a series of bamboo tubes, the longest of which measures 9 inches,
and which are supposed to render the 12 chromatic semitones of the octave.
The discovery of the liis is somewhat fabulous. Hxjang Ti is reputed to be the inventor ;
he arranged them according to the pa-hua} or mysterious symbols of Fu Hsi. ^ Huang Ti
sent one of his ministers. Ling Lxjn, to a place called Tahsia (which has been identified with
Bactria, the mother of cities, from its unrivalled antiquity and splendour), situated west of
■ The /\ ^[» (pa-lua) are eight diagrams drawn by the Emperor Pu Hsi, and which are used by the Chinese
(who believe that they represent the manifold changes which take place in Nature and in the affairs of the world) for
purposes of divination. Chaos, or primitive existence, is unity ; . One divided becomes two : — — . From
these figures, one whole line and one divided, placed above each other ( — —~ __ __ ^^^^ g^g \
the eight diagrams were formed. (See Moreison's book, " A View of China,'' etc., p. 118.)
CHINESE MUSIC. /
the K'u^nlun Mountains (the Olympus of China and the supposed source of the fing-shui),
to procure bamboo tubes to make the lus. It appears that there is a valley there called
Chiehku, where bamboos of regular thickness grow. Ling Lun cut the piece of bamboo which
is between two knots, and the sound emitted by this tube he considered as the base, the
pitch-key, the tonic.^ He arranged a series of 12 tubes, according to the ideas of his master,
and they receiYed the name f^ g (liis) — that is, laws, principles, pitch-pipes.
Now, what led the inventor to the division of the octave into twelve semitones, each
represented by one lu ? Several versions are given : —
i". Some say that he arrived at it by listening to the singing of the PSngs or FSngs
(a powerful tribe living south of the Yangtze-kiang),. the voices of the men
giving him six demitones and those of the women the remaining six.^
2°. Others give the same theory with this particular change, that the F^ngs were
not human beings, but birds ; the male being called ]§. (f^ng), and the female
^ (huangP Unfortunately for this theory, a third account assures us that
these birds were simply imaginary.*
3°. Another writer attributes to the rolling waves of the Yellow River the idea of
the first sound. The bamboos growing on its borders were used to render it.^
4°. Another writer, less poetical but not less positive, is convinced that Ling Lxjn cut
his bamboos according to the terms of a triple progression of 12 numbers, as
I; 3> 9; 27, 81, etc., which, indeed, exhibit the numerical values of a series of
perfect fifths.^
But without questioning to what extent these theories may be acceptable, it is more
reasonable to beheve that the discovery of the 12 divisions of the octave was due to simple
and natural causes.
That the ancient Chinese should notice the difference of pitch between the sounds emitted
by tubes of different length is quite natural; that they contrived to find a tube the sound
of which corresponded exactly to the fundamental note of the then existing music is not
astonishing; that they then became anxious to have tubes corresponding to the other sounds
of their scale is quite comprehensible; and that when comparing, blowing, or cutting they
discovered the way to the division of the octave into 12 semitones is not at all impossible.
The Chinese have always been fond of seeking the similitude or contrasts existing
between everything in creation. Between heaven. and earth, they say, there is perfect harmony.
Now, 3 is the emblem of heaven, 2 is the symbol of earth.^ If two sounds are in the
proportion of 3 to 2, they will harmonise as perfectly as heaven and earth. On this principle
a second tube was cut measuring exactly two-thirds of the length of the first tube, and the
2 DouQLAs' "China," p. 162.
3 "Journal of the North-China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society," No. VIII, 1874, P- 96.
* Morrison's Dictionary : character J^.
5 Amiot, " Memories sur les Ohinois."
6 Paul Pbrnt's Dictionary, Part II.
'Theg|*says:^5^1J|i.
8 CHINESE MUSIC.
sound rendered was the perfect fifth, which in our Western music is also expressed by the
ratio of 3 to 2.
The second bamboo being treated on the same principle, produced a third tube measuring
exactly two-thirds of the length, and giving a note a perfect fifth higher than that of the second
tube. This new sound seeming, too far distant from the first' or fundamental note, the length
of the producing tube was doubled (that is, four-thirds of the second tube's whole length was
raken instead of two-thirds), and the note became an octave lower.
All the tubes were cut on the same principle,^ the relation of 3 to 2 representing the
harmony existing between heaven and earth. They engendered one another and always
measured two-thirds or four-thirds of the whole length of their generator. The lils were
therefore divided into two classes, the [g f^ (yang liis) and the [^ g (yin lils), or males and
females, positives and negatives, perfect and imperfect.
According to the §, ^ (I King), chaos was divided into two parts, yang answering to
male energy, and yin corresponding to the female principle. All that is strong and superior
is yang; yin indicates dependence, inferiority. Everything in Nature belongs to one of these
two grand categories, from whose combinations and reciprocal action results all that exists or
takes place in the universe. The liis i, 3, S, 7, 9, and 11 were considered as yang; the even
numbers were classed as yin; but it is well to remark that these distinctions did not at
all affect the tones, and were made simply to please the Chinese ideas of the time. Other
comparisons were drawn between the 12 liis, the 12 moons, the 12 Chinese hours, etc.^
The first tube, which was considered as the basis, the generator of all the others, received
the name ^ ^ (huang-chung). The sound produced by it was named g (Icung), and became
the tonic or key-note of a kind of semi-diatonic scale of 12 degrees, nearly identical with our
chromatic gamut, the only difference being that our scale is tempered, while that of the Chinese
is left untouched.
TemperaTnent denotes a small, and to the ear almost imperceptible, deviation from the
absolute purity of intervals which compose our scale. It is well known that 12 perfect
fifths employed within the space of an octave (like the 12 Chinese sounds) exceed the ratio
of the octave, or that of 2 to i, by the ditonic comma, a small interval expressed by the ratio
of 531,441 to 524,288. Our ear is so constructed that it cannot endure the excess or deficiency
of a whole comma in any interval without being ofiended, and therefore it has been found
expedient to diminish each fifth by one-twelfth of the ditonic comma, instead of diminishing
only one fifth by the entire comma.
That is what we call temperament in Western music, and it is the absence of it that
causes some of the Chinese intervals to appear to us either too high or too flat. We will prove
mathematically the difference when speaking of the diatonic scale.
The following diagram will illustrate the liis, giving their names, the moons, hours,
etc., to which they correspond, the musical sounds they emit (supposing huang-chung to give
our C), their corresponding notes in our music, etc.
The liis follow each other at the interval of half a tone.
■ £ ^ IM ^ ± T ft ^■
CHTNESE MT^STC.
No. I.
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'on.
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m
ox
°fthe
hour.
isti
"ote not
otkey.
J^Ticient
Modern
Toreigi
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of
17 17 ^
lu,
litt'H-
.lii.
.a<^
^°
^^,e\
c^^-""^
-^>'c?
>^.
slv*^'
10
'TTTXKSi'E irUSTC
No. 2.
Diagram showing how the Lus generate one another.
\m
S ■" ■- .2; i ~ o a o " :
M^l — ■
o^---
- o o
a>
: c/3 u
(U
CD
fco o
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)
CHINESE MUSIC. 11
The question has been raised as to whether the Ills were open at both ends or not.
Those acquainted with the theory of the vibration of tubes will readily admit that they were
stopped at one end, for the following reasons.
Sound in a tube, open or not, is produced by the vibrating movement of the air, and
the sound wiU vary in pitch according to the degree of pressure of the air. The different
notes so produced are called harmonics. The longer and narrower the tube, the more harmonics
it will give.
A long tube open at both ends will give the following harmonics, which are marked
I, 2, 3, etc , according to their place in the succession of sounds.
^
221
-b«-
T7"
• i ^ ^ "
**■ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 etc.
1
A tube closed at one end will give only the harmonics marked with odd numbers, with
this important pecuHarity, that to produce the same note this tube requires only half the length
of an open tube.
e
12:
-&-
■¥&■
-©-
11 etc.
The first hucmg-ehung tube measured only i foot. An open tube of that size would
scarcely give any sound, whereas a corked tube i foot long gives the same note as an open
tube 2 feet long. Moreover, the tubes of the Pandean pipe, which was a collection of bamboos
made on the principle of the lus, were closed at the lower end.
To their series of 12 liis the Chinese added two new series, one lower and one higher.
The liis were used merely to regulate the instruments and give a uniform pitch to the
music. The diameter of aU the liis must be the same.^ Mbng K'ang (^ J^) says that the
circumference of all tubes diminishes according to their length, but this is explicitly contra-
dicted by Ts'Ai Tzxt (^ ^), who quotes Ch^ng K'ang-ch'^ng {% ^ ^) and Ts'ai Yung (^ ^)
(two great wine-bibbers and famous writers on music), and he flatly declares that Mi&ng K'ang
and his adherents know nothing about music.^ The tubes were all of the same thickness,
circumference, and diameter; only the length varied according to the sounds. Huang-chung,
or the first tube, was i foot in length in reality, but that foot was considered as being only 9
inches, because 9 is perfectly divisible by 3, whereas 10 is not.^
'See^^^M ^H, which says : ;L f* S S :»- ^, M = ^■
12
CHINESE MUSIC.
When the lils were first invented they were well-selected bamboos, but in subsequent
times, principally during the Chin (^) dynasty, the lus were made of copper, of marble, and
of jadestone. The opinion was that they would thus be less subject to atmospheric changes.
In order to illustrate fully the difference between the 12 lus and the 12 semitones of
our chromatic scale (tempered form), I give here a table showing the names of our notes
corresponding to the Chinese lils, the length of each lii in Chinese inches, according to the
best and most reliable Chinese critics i; and the same length reduced to 120th parts of an
inch and compared with the numerical values of our notes.
One Chinese foot is equal to 0.255 nifetres, and our C is supposed to be huang-chung.
Comparative Table of Chinese and Western Notes.
Names of Ltjs.
Corresponding
Western Notes.
Length of Liis
in
Chinese Inches.
Length of Liis
reduced to 120th
Parts of an Inch.
Required Length
of Tubes to render
corresponding
Western Notes,
Huang-chung, upper
Yi/ng-chung
Wu-i
Nan-lii
I-tsi
Lin-chung
Jut-pin
Chung-lii ,
Ku-hsi
Ghia-ehung
T'ai-ts'u
Ta-lii
Huang-chung, base...
C
B
Bb
A
Ab
G
Gb
r
E
Bb
D
Db
C
4.3853
4.66
4.8848
S-3
S-5SI
6
6.28
6.5824
7-1
7-4373
8
8.376
9
526.237
559-2
586.176
636
666. 1 2
720
753-6
789.888
852
892.476
960
ICXD5.I2
1080
540
576
607.5
645-3
683-i
720
768.45
810
864
910.71
963.99
1024.578
1080
By the above table it is seen that while the base and the fifth perfectly agree, all
the other notes of the Chinese scale are too sharp, and consequently could not possibly be
rendered on om: Western tempered instruments. Besides, the octave is so high as to be very
unpleasing to our Western ears. This is the principal reason why Chinese music does not leave
a better impression on the minds of foreigners.
5, Iffi la ji -if iS, H .^ M » »< ^ .i * ^ », ^ M #, and others.
CHINESE MUSIC. . 13
OF THE PITCH.
What was the real pitch of the first huang-okv/ag tube ?
The size, capacity, and material of the tubes have so often been changed during the
successive dynasties that it > has become almost impossible to form any acceptable conclusion
on this subject.
Pere Amiot, who died more than a century ago, gives F as the equivalent of huang-
chung ; but he says himself in his works that he adopted this key because the strains of his
harmonium impressed his Chinese hearers much more when he was playing in the key of F
than when he played in any other key.
The present pitch approaches our D (60 1| vibrations per second) as nearly as possible.
The principal fixed instruments, as the yiln-lo, the sheng, the flute, all give the D as tonic.
But, with the view of pointing out in the clearest manner the similarity or contrast of Chinese
music to our Western music, I have thought it convenient to give our C as the equivalent
of huavg-chung, and to have our natural scale of C in apposition to the Chinese natural scale.
14 CHINESE MUSIC.
CHINESE SYSTEM OF NOTATION.
The 12 lus, as has been shown before, formed a kind of semi-diatonic scale, resembling-
more or less our Western chromatic gamut. The ancient Chinese might thus have had hepta-
tonic and chromatic scales in aU the keys; they did not, however, extend the use of their
discovery so far, for up to the time of the Yin (|^) dynasty (B.C. 1300), only five notes — the
sounds emitted by the five first lus (see Diagram No. 2) — were in general use.^
To express these five sounds in writing, certain characters had been selected ; they were —
g (kung),
^ (shang).
^ (chiao).
it (chih).
m (yd)-
But at the beginning of the Chou (^) dynasty (B.C. iioo), two more notes (the sounds emitted
by liis Nos. 6 and 7 of Diagram No. 2) were introduced.^
These were called —
M ® (pien-kung), literally changing into kung ; and
^ Wi (pien-chihj, „ „ „ chih.
Ts'Ai Tzu (^ ^) says: "Between kung and shang, shang and chiao, chih and yii^
there is only the interval of one lu ; we skip over one lu and use the next one (see Diagram
No. i); but between chiao and chih, yil and kung, there is an interval of two liis. Now,
when the notes are separated only by one lu the distance is not great, and their succession
is satisfactory; but wheii two lus stand between two notes the connexion between these
seems interrupted." ^ To remedy this deficiency, the two fien were added to the scale, bringing
the number of notes to seven; and these were called the seven principles, because they are
produced by the first seven tubes, and because, as seen in Diagram No. 2, they engender one
another.
The ancient scale was therefore as follows. Like the European diatonic scale, it is com-
posed of five full tones and two half tones ; but one of the half tones is found in the Chinese
gamut between the fourth and fifth degrees, whereas in the Western gamut it stands between
the third and fourth degrees.
= i ^ ^ ^ in r ^ Pi ± -t s, etc.
m jE Up iff, n f* i'J it M ^ ^ H, Wl, etc.
CHINESE MUSIC.
1&
Names of Notes.
Kxmg B
Sliang ^
Ghiao ^
Fim-chih ^ ^
Ghih ^
Yii ;.... M
Pim-kung ^ a
Kung ,.... a
Lus by which the Notes are
produced.
HtMng-dwmg ^ ^
T'aUs'u :;J: ^
Ku-hsi j^ f5fc
Jwi-pin ..|!^ ^
Lin-ehung ipfj ^
Nwn-liJb ^ S
Ying-chung IE ®
Huang-chung ^ ^
Westeru equivalent Notes.
.^^5v.
*
c.
D.
E.
F#.
G.
A.
B.
C.
This scale remained in use unchanged until the rise of the Yiian (-jH;^) dynasty (14th
century), the founder of which was Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan. The
invading Mongols brought with them a scale and a system of notation different from that
used by the Chinese. This scale was as follows : —
Ho.
2, ± K X >ll 7^ S
Yi. Shang. Gh'ih. Kung. Pan. Liu. Wu.
This new notation rapidly became popular on account of the simplicity of the characters
compared with the complicated signs of the ancient scale. But confusion was naturally created
by some musicians using F natural, while others used Fi^. Kublai Khan, who always paid
strict regard to the ancient laws and customs of the conquered Chinese, endeavoured to reconcile
the two scales by introducing F # in the modern gamut under the name of ^ (hou); and the
following gamut became dominant during the rule of the Yiian (%) dynasty ^ : —
' Q
©—
■t)
r^
"tTT-
(S>-
''J
Ho.
SsH.
Yi.
Shang.
Kou.
Ch'ih.
X
Kung.
Fan.
Liu.
2L
Wu.
See ■
^, book 1^ If, chapter g; |f.
16
CHINESE MUSIC.
The Ming (^) (15th century) adopted the Yiian gamut, but excluded all the notes
producing half tones, and so obtained a pentatonic scale composed as follows : —
"ZZ.
■zz.
121
-&-
Ho. SsH.
± R X
Shang. Gh'ih. Rung.
lAu.
5
Wu.
The present dynasty — the Ch'ing (^) — reverted to the Yiian gamut, leaving out, however,
the note kou (43), which was th«i real pien-chih of the ancient scale. Their scale is given as
follows : —
Actual Names of
Notes.
So ^
SsH
Yi 2-
Shang Jl
GhHh fi
Rung X
Fan )\j^
Lilt "^
Wu 55
Ancient Names of Notes.
Rung (i) §■
Shmig (l) '^
Chiao ^
Chih{i) it
Ghih{2) ^ ^
Til fj
Rung (2) ^ ^
JSung(3) g il?
Shang {2) ^ ijf
Names of Liis.
Huang (i) ^
T'ai{i) ±
Su ^
Chung \ijf
Lin ^
Nan ^
Ying M
Huang (2) ^ j^
2"«*(2) ±m
Western equivalent Notes.
*
W^
<5
c.
D.
E.
P.
G.
A.
B.
0.
D.
From what precedes it may be seen that not only have the names of the notes been
changed but also the principle of the scale is no longer the same. The two pien or half tones of
the ancient scale are no longer in use ; they have, it is true, never been well understood by the
majority of Chinese, but now, to avoid all possible confusion, they have been carefully put aside.
The present Chinese theoretically admit seven sounds in the scale, but practically they only use
five, and that as well in ritual music as in popular tunes.
CHINESE MUSIC. 17
Only the modern names of notes are used.
The ancient denominations of the notes are now only met with in books. They are the
scientific terms of the five sounds. The modern names are much easier, and besides present
the advantage that by means of a little sign affixed to the left of the note, the octave higher
is at once expressed ; thus, X is A grave, and ^I becomes A acute.
Some instruments, as the ch'in, the se, and the pien-chung, require, on account of their
special construction, quite a different musical notation, which will be given further on.
Each of the primitive names of note's had a particukr meaning. The Chinese, who
are so fond of comparing and contrasting, could not fail to find some relation between the
five notes and —
The five planets : Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mars.
„ points : north, east, centre, west, south.
„ colours : black, violet, yellow, white, red.
„ elements : wood, water, earth, metal, fire.
The affinity of the five sounds with the five relations of men and things is explained as
follows by the Chinese : —
i". § B S (kung shu chiln). The note Icung corresponds to the chief, the ruler,
the Emperor.
2°- l§ M E (shang shu ch'4n). The note shang corresponds to the minister.
3°- ;ft W J£ {chiao shu min). The note chiao is related to the people, the nation.
4°- M M ^ (chih shu shih). The note chih represents the affairs of the State.
S°- M M ^ (y^ ®^^ '"'W- I'^s ^°*^ y'"' represents material objects.
In our Western music the position of a note on the stave determines its pitch. In
ancient Chinese music, with only five characters to represent the different sounds, it must
have been next to impossible to read a written piece of music. By inspection of the scale
given above, it may be seen that the modem Chinese have a special sign for nearly every note
of their melodic system. Their characters not only express the sounds, but also indicate the
pitch — that is, their position in the gamut. The music of the Chinese, hke their language, is
written in vertical rows of characters from right to left. They never trespass beyond the limits
of 14 sounds; finding within the compass of that scale an infinite variety of tunes to which
Chinese ears only can become accustomed.
OF THE STAVE.
Their hieroglyphic notetion, permitting the recognition of the pitch as well as of the
name of a written note, has spared the Chinese the use of a. stave. Besides, their habit of writing,
characters in columns from top to bottom would never admit of the adoption of a stave like ours.
10 CHINESE MUSIC.
Chinese musicians must often be puzzled when reading a new piece, there being no
way of distinguishing a note from its octave. This defect has been remedied to a certain
extent by affixing httle signs indicating the octave higher ; but this custom is not general, and,
owing either to negligence or ignorance, many pieces are found in which there is no means
of distinguishing the notes J:, ^, X fro™ their respective octaves. But, as will be seen,
this is the least important imperfection of Chinese solmisation.
OF THE VALUE OF NOTES.
The Chinese have not for each sound several figures expressing its value or length.
Their notes indicate simply a certain sound at a certain height, but leave the reader in the
most complete doubt as to their value. Sometimes signs or dots are added on the right of a
note to signify that it is to be held longer than the others, but stiU this system is not uniform,
and is found only in manuscripts.
This is incontestably the weakest point in Chinese musical notation. The total absence
of signs showing the value, the rests, the time, etc., makes it quite impossible to learn a tune
by merely reading the written notes. The best Chinese musician could only conjecture the
general form of a written piece shown to him for the first time; to be able to decipher it
he must first hear it played.
The following are the principal arbitrary signs in use :^
1°. Some notes are written larger than the rest, to emphasise them.
2°. A space is left between two notes. This may mean a rest or the end of a
verse.
3". Small dots are written after the notes, one dot for one time. For instance,
X may be J ; then X • will be q', and X • • ■ will represent q.
OF THE RESTS.
A rest is denoted by httle signs ( ^ or x ) placed in the same row as the notes, but its
duration is merely a matter of taste, and must be learnt traditionally. A space left between
two notes may indicate a pause.
OF TIME.
The only measure scientifically recognised by the Chinese theorists is that in four time.
In practice, however, several measures are admitted, especially that in three time.
CHINESE MUSIC.
19
Each fourth time is indicated by a small circle (o) written at the right side of the note ;
the three other times are marked by dots (. . .). But time and measures are not always indicated,
and this deficiency, together with the total absence of signs marking the value of notes, compels
the musician to learn aU the tunes by tradition. The tunes, modified by the individual taste of
the performer, may after a lapse of time become quite different from what they were origmaUy.
Song called ^ :^ (The Feesh Beautiful Flower).
<!' ^ \ '\ 111]
±±
^
i
22
^^^^=g
^
i ' J -^
F^^=^
^-
^^
±-
R
X.
X.
x-
±..
Ko
X
X
R-
.1.
X
J-
•\
X
R.
s
£
£
±o
£
±..
/Lo
/L
/L
:^..
:^o
/L
A
i^
£o
i.
;l
R-
±„
£
•\"
-I.
s
X
•\
R
5
£
X
±
X..
X..
.X.
fi.
^0
±..
SIGNS OF ALTERATION OF NOTES.
The Chinese have nothing approaching what we call sharps, fiats, or naturals — that is to
say, signs which in a piece of music sharpen or flatten certain notes and produce those
charming effects which constitute the beauty of our music. They remain faithful to their
pentatonic scale, and find therein all the variations necessary to satisfy their ear.
In our music the number of flats or sharps at the beginning of a piece indicates the
key-note or tone in which it is to be played. To attain the same end the Chinese state at
the beginning of a piece to what lil — that is, to what tone — the key-note must correspond.
This indication is used in sacred music only, this being the only scientific music of China. J
Ljive here an example of the Chinese signature.
The following piece is the part played by the flute — ^ (hsiao) — in the Spring Hymn to
^JoNFUCius. According to a decree issued by Ch'ien Lung (^ ^) in the eighth year of his
3
20
CHINESE MUSIC.
reign, ceremonial services to Confucius were to be performed four times a year, and the same
hymn sung every time, but in a different key : —
Foreign Equitalbnt.
Flute Part for the
M ft (°^
Spring Ceremony).
Heading indicat-
ing the Pitch
of the Key-note.
Explanation.
1^
S
IH- ffi <R
^ chia 1
Chia-chung, the 4th lu {see circular diagranl)
"E-
( L
1^ ffi IK.
^ mi
acting as
!
t
ijl ffi <^
^ tewjf
fundamental sound or tonic,
S-' i g,
•
> 1 L.
>
1 1
1
W 1R
IK, m
it 1^
i3 t'wo )
a doubled ying-ehung (the 12th lil of the
primitive\series, being doubled becomes the
12th lu of the grave series) =B ^
\
V
begins ) begins ) starts
the V the\| the
intonation ) tune '3 music.
=<1 C1-
*
e
<K 1H.
ffi j^MKg-
(When) employing
-| -
,.
ih '^
/i c/i'* \
the character J^, that is, the musical note f^
bd
J 1
. 1
IH, it
^ fe« . )
orG,
o
i
> - IL
_
1:^ m
11 t'iao
to intone a tune,
9 e.
_
^K ^X
1^, cftV
(we must) exclude, leave aside,
1
ji
m ^
T. fcitig'
the notes kung and yi, or
<L
--
j(
Zj y^-
A and E,
By means of the 12 lus the Chinese are enabled to transpose their scale of 14
sounds in any of the 12 tones. For instance, our scale of C is for the Chinese the scale of
huang-chung, and when we have music written in the tone of E ^ the Chinese say it is in,
chia-chung. An important point to be observed is that, no matter in what tone a Chinese
piece is written, the first sound or key-note is always g (kung), the second shang, the third
chiao, and so on. The best foreign equivalents for these five names would thus be —
Tonic, or first degree, for kung ; subtonic, or second degree, for shang ;
Mediant, or third degree, for chiao ; dominant, or fifth degree, for chih ;
Subdominant, or sixth degree, for yil.
At the grand ceremonies Chinese musicians regulate their instruments according to one
of the fixed instruments, as the pien-chung, the pien-ch'ing, or the p'ai-hsiao, three instruments
which give exactly the same notes as the liis. The heading or signature written before th&
music of the other instruments refers to them.
CHINESE MUSIC,
21
Thus, when the flute-player is warned by the heading of his music that chia-chung
is to be considered as tonic or kung, he knows that the five-note gamut of those three instru-
ments will be —
Chia-chung, chung-lu, lin-chung, ying-chung, pei ying-chung,
Kung, shang, chiao, chih, yii,
and he will play accordingly.
In their music the Chinese carefully avoid the pien or half tones; Therefore the notes
creating half tones are named in the heading, that they may be excluded.
OF THE DIATONIC GAMUT.
In Western music we call the diatonic gamut a scale of seven degrees (eight with the
octave), containing five full tones and two half tones. In the major scale the semitones are
found between the third and fourth degrees and between the seventh and eighth. In the
minor scale they are between the second and third and between the fifth and sixth degrees.
The Chinese gamut also contains eight degrees, but these being a series of perfect fifths
brought within the compass of an octave, without having undergone any teTnperament, they
form irregular intervals incompatible Avith our tempered instruments.
Experience teaches us, and it is proved mathematically, that if the following series of
perfect fifths, C, G, D, A, E, is not tempered, the E last obtained wiU be found too sharp to
form a irite major third to the note C. Indeed, the third thus obtained is so sharp as to be
absolutely offensive to the ear. If we continue the above series we shall find defects in all
the other intervals.
To exemplify this assertion, let us suppose that the absolute length of a tube necessary
to sound the note C or huang-chung is lo.b^o parts of an inch, and let us take from the
comparative table on p. 12 the notes necessary to form a diatonic scale; we shall have the
following table : —
Names of Notes.
Required Length
of Tubes to render the
Chinese Notes, —
stated in 120th parts
of an Inch.
Required Length
of Tubes to render the
Foreign Notes, —
stated in 120th parts
of an Inch.
Comparison by Height
of Lines.
Chinese. Foreign.
Huang-chtmg ....
Ying-chung
Liu if^
Fan JL
Kung JC
a'ih f^
Shang Jt
Yi , 2»
SsH
-Ho ^
G
B
A
G
F
E
D
C
526.237
559-2
636
720
789.888
852
960
1080
540
576
645-3
720
810
864
963.99
1080
Ghu7ig-lu
T'n/!.-f<iUi.
Huang-chung ....
22 CHINESE MUSIC.
The D, E, A, and B of the Chinese scale are too sharp, the F is nearly F i^, and the
octave C is unbearable to foreign ears. In practice, however, the Chinese are able to flatten
or sharpen the notes according to requirements ; but the intervals, the thirds principally, are
never correct.
The third was long considered an imperfect consonance; it is only since the introduc-
tion of temperament that the third in Western music has been classified among the perfect
consonances. The Chinese, like the ancient Greeks, recognise only the fifth, the fourth, and the
octave as consonances.
If Chinese melody were accompanied by chords formed of their sharp thirds, the effect
would be to a foreigner an intolerable cacophony. However, the melody of the Chinese being
always unsupported, the dissonances are less apparent, and it approaches more closely to just
intonation.
OF MAJOR AND MINOR.
Is the Chinese scale major or minor ?
1°. In Western music the major mode is determined by the perfect major third on
the key-note (e.g., C to E), and the leading-note (note sensible, B). Among the
Chinese, the pentatonic, or five-notes' scale, is in general use, and this contains
neither E nor B ; there is consequently no major third and no leading-note.
2". Our minor mode is indicated by a minor third on the key-note (say, A to C),
and the leading-note (which should be G j^). The Chinese scale offers nothing
of the kind.
3°. Even if the heptatonic, or seven-notes' gamut, is used, the sharp third on C is
more than a major third, and the third on A is an inexpressible interval.
Thus, being composed of irregular intervals, and having no leading-notes (without which
there is no possible modaUty), the Chinese scale may be said to be neither major nor minor,
but to participate of the two. Chinese melodies are not majestic, martial, sprightly, entrancing,
as is our music in the major mode ; and they lack the softness, the tenderness, the plaintive
sadness of our minor airs.
The European writers on music who positively declare that Chinese music is major, have
been misled by the rendering of Chinese tunes in Western notation. Indeed, Chinese music
expressed in our notes and played on our instruments is not at all shocking ; it may even be
accompanied and sustained by chords and harmony. In this case there is no difficulty in
declaring the music produced to be major or minor ; but Chinese tunes so disguised no longer
belong to genuine Chinese music, and cannot possibly afford conclusive proofs of anything
concerning it.
CHINESE MUSIC. 23
OF THE CHROMATIC SCALE.
The Chinese have a scale composed of 1 2 semitones (that of the 1 2 liis), which may be
called the chromatic scale. This scale is used to transpose their diatonic gamut in any of the
1 2 keys, but never to play chromatic runs on the instruments, nor to write music proceeding
with half tones.
Each degree is named from the lii producing its sound, but in its name only the first
syllable is used. For instance, C (the first degree) is called huang, for huang-chung, and so on.
The 1 2 liis, originally producers of those sounds, are nowadays imknown. Nevertheless,
9ertain instruments created on the principle of the liis, as the pien-ch'ing, the pien-chung, etc.,
are stiQ in use, and are the guardians of the 1 2 semitones.
The transposition of the diatonic scale from one tone to another is very curious, and
is worthy of the Chinese.
The scientific Chinese have a circular diagram (see page 9) on which the names of the
liis are written in order, with the names of the hours, moons, etc., to which they correspond.
Supposing it is required to form a gamut of which jui-pin shall be the base : knowing the
name of the tonic or key-note (|^ ^, which corresponds to the sth moon), the Chinese
musician will pass from it to the note six moons forward (thus, ^ (huang), corresponding
to the nth moon); from this he will retrograde to the note four moons back (^ (i),
corresponding to the 7th moon) ; then he will go to the sound six moons forward {■j^ (t'ai),
corresponding to the ist moon); then four moons back again (te (wu), 9th moon). He
will thus create a scale of five sounds, fi|, %, |Bt, ^, -j^, to which he will give the names hung,
shang, chiao, etc.
If we put this pentatonic gamut in apposition to the corresponding Western notes, we
shall have —
#0 ttQ
yTr
n Q
n m 1^, n ±
ov ■§ ^ n m M
and it will be readily perceived that the C and D are nearly half a tone too flat ; but to the
Chinese this is no objection, their aim being to prove the irrefutable connexion of their
music with astronomy and Nature.
Besides, when playing or singing the Chinese succeed perfectly in flattening or sharpening
certain notes. The players on the ch'in are especially fond of producing such effects.
In ordinary popular music the existence of something resembling a chromatic scale is not
even suspected. >
24 CHINESE MUSIC.
OTHER SIGNS OF NOTATION.
Most of the instruments required in ritual music have a particular kind of musical
notation adapted to the exigencies of their conformation. For instance, a piece written for the
ch'in presents a complicated combination of strokes difficult to learn and to decipher. Still it
is an ingenious and abbreviated kind of notation.
Neither time nor movement are ever mentioned at the beginning of a piece ; and
crescendos, decrescendos, legatos, etc., are utterly unknown to the Chinese.
OF SINGING.
It is difficult to give a correct idea of Chinese vocal music. Few foreigners are able to
imitate Chinese vocaHsation. The sounds seem to proceed from the nose ; the tongue, the teeth,
and the Ups have very little to do, except for the enunciation of some labial words. Besides,
men and women generally sing in the kind of voice known as voix de tete. Chinese singing is
always in unison, and usually serves as an accompaniment to the guitar.
In ritual ceremonies the singing is of a tender and plaintive character, in a kind of minor
key; It is also in unison, and therefore bears a striking resemblance to the first Christian
runtus planus. It is generally accompanied by a kind of minuet dancing, in which the
different attitudes and evolutions of the performers must express to the eye what the voices
and instruments convey at the same time to the ear.
A remarkable peculiarity in the Buddhistic service is that although all the chanters utter
the same words and follow the same rhythm, still each sings in the key most convenient to his
owa voice.
In theatres the singing is mostly a kind of " recitative " couched in pompous and meta-
phorical language.
OF HARMONY AND CHORDS.
The Chinese have nothing hke our harmony, taken in the sense of chords, counterpoint,
etc. The only collection of different but simultaneous sounds recognised by them is that
produced by playing two strings (at a distance of a fourth, a fifth, or an octave) together on the
ch'in, the .se", or the guitar.
CHINESE MUSIC. 25
RITUAL MUSIC.
Under the name of Ritual Music must be comprehended all music performed at Court
or at the religious ceremonies of the JH f^ (ju-chiao), or " Sect of the learned," of which
the Emperor is the chief These ceremonies take place at fixed epochs ; for instance, the
winter solstice is the fixed date for the worship of Heaven, the summer solstice for that of
Earth. During the spring and autumn lucky days are chosen for the worship of Confucius
and the spirits of departed sages ; at other times services are performed at the temples of
agriculture, of ancestors, of the sun, of the moon, etc. Most of these ceremonies take place
during the early hours of the morning, and are always terminated at sunrise. The Emperor
is supposed to attend himself, but if for certain reasjons he is unable to do so, he deputes one
of the Princes or a high dignitary to conduct the ceremonies in the name of the sovereign.
Everything connected with them is minutely regulated : the number of musicians, of dancers,
of instruments, vases, and utensils of all kinds, of movements, genuflexions, and even words,
is rigorously fixed. As all the ceremonies are pretty much alilte, I will illustrate only those
p erformed at the temple of the great sage Confucius.
Confucius (in Chinese, K'ung-fu-tzU), the great sage of China, was a native of the
state of Lu (B.C. SJo), the present province of Shantung, where his tomb can be seen at
a place called Ch'li-fou. His Ufe and writings have been made generally known by numerous
translations into various foreign tongues,^ and therefore I need not explain how and why he
became an object of profound veneration for succeeding generations.
Confucius is now worshipped all over China by those who belong to the lettered class.
In every prefecture and sub-prefecture there is a temple devoted to him, where ceremonies
are performed with great pomp twice a year. The Confucian temple at Peking is a spacious
and magnificent building, covered with a double roof of yellow glazed tiles, which is sustained
by massive wooden pillars. Access to the temple is gained by passing through three great gates
and traversing as many wide courts, where weeds are growing luxuriantly. Before the temple
there is a broad, elevated, marble terrace reached by a flight of steps, and guarded by handsome
balustrades of elaborately carved marble. The temple has three great doors, which are wide
open at the time of worshipping. Within, on the north side of the great hall and facing south
stands the shrine with the tablet bearing the words: The Most Holy Ancient Sage Confucius. ^
In two other shrines, facing, one west and the other east, are to be seen the tablets of the
four principal disciples of the sage, Mencius, Tzu-ssu-tzij, Tseng-tzu, and Yen-tzu.* In two
other large buildings lying east and west of the temple are placed, in the order of merit, the
tablets of ancient worthies.
Before Confucius' shrine in the temple there are several tables bearing offerings of
meats of different kinds, grains of all sorts, fruits, wine, incense, silk, satin, etc.
1 See Leggb's " Classics," among others.
-26
CHINESE MUSIC.
The way from the first gate to the centre of the temple is left open for the passage of
the Emperor or his deputy, with his suite of princes, dignitaries, and attendants. At the second
gate the Emp6ror leaves his sedan and walks to the temple at a slow, stately pace ; a band of
14 musicians and 11 ensign and umbrella bearers precedes him, while an appropriate piece of
music called ^ ^1 (Tao-yin), the Guiding March, is played.
I give here this march, which is played by two sMng, two ti-tz'ti, two hsiao, two ywi-lo.
two tou-kuan, two drums, and two pairs of castanets.
R
00
^..
I
^.
X
m
X
Xo
J-
/>o
0,
:3ir
/■»Oi
Xo
£
X
^'P'
^.
£
±.
m
/^O
'S-o
^1
x„.
5^0
m
^0
X
m
#
^
X.
^.
X
3#
00.
lo
Ko
HU
^
R.
s
±
0v
lo.
±.
E3.
^\<i\
m
^0
In foreign notation this may be rendered somewhat as follows :
The Guiding March.
Slow
4i\: 1 1 J 1 I ^ ^
jS_ * LJ^
^H
#
I 1
® -a^-
^pir^
a
^■F^g^
i
32:
^
i ' UiJ-
(The little circles and dots at the side of the Chinese notes and above the Western notes indicate that tfie
drummers and castanet-players must sound their instruments.)
When the Emperor enters the temple the guiding music ceases, and the most profound
silence reigns for a while. Everybody is at his place ; the singers, harpers, sheng players, and
small drums are ranged on the west and east sides within the temple ; the bell and stone instru-
ments, the flutes, and the larger drums are outside, on the marble terrace are 36 dancers divided
into two groups, one west and one east, and the dancers standing at equal distance one from the
other ; in front of each group is a leader carrying a kind of banner with which he guides the
movements of his group ; in front of the chanters in the temple are two dragon-embroidered
flags called hui.
CHINESE MUSIC.
27
When the Emperor ^ has arrived before the shrine, the grand master of ceremonies gives the
signal to commence by beating the little drum he holds in his hand. At this signal the flags (hui)
are raised, the chu (leader) beats his instrument three tunes, and the whole band begins to play.
The following hymn is the only one sung in honour of Confucius, according to a decree
issued in the eighth year of Ch'ien Lung (A.D. 1743). The same words and the same music are
always used, the only difference being the change of lii or key-note. The hymn is always sung in
the lu corresponding to the moon during which the ceremony takes place ; for instance, during
the second moon chia-chung is assumed as lii, and during the eighth moon the key-note is
nan-lii. The hymn is divided into six stanzas : —
1°. 5^ f$, ying shin, receiving the approaching. Spirit.
2°. % J^, cA'tt hsien, first presentation of offerings.
3°- 35 II^C 2/* hsien, second presentation.
4°- ^ )®5 chung hsien, third and last presentation.
S"- # f^ ch'e chuan, removal of the viands.
6°. 3g jji^ sung sMn, escorting the Spirit back.^
A remarkable peculiarity of Chinese worship is the firm belief that the spirits in whose
honour a ceremony is performed descend from heaven to receive the offerings prepared for
thein. Therefore here the first stanza is devoted to inviting and meeting the Spirit : —
^
^
Very slow.
Zjm-
rW
0lt
X3t
xiz
m.
zz
22:
31
zz
-&-
Ta
tsax
K'ung
tzU.
Hsien
chileh
chih.
1
:^
22:
is:
22:
Yii
t'ien
shih
chih
shih.
zsz:
:s2i
I
-e>-
Hsiang
cMng
Un
/«.
Yilii
ta
chin
i
:zz.
1Z.
■'&-
-zz.
•2Z.
3:
Jih
chi
chieh.
GhHen
ch'ing
' I continue to say the Emperor because if he does not officiate himself the ceremony is always carried on as if
he were present.
^ For translation of this Hymn see p. 34.
4
28
CHINESE MUSIC.
During the second strophe the Emperor kneels twice and knocks his forehead three
times on the ground; he then presents the fruits of the earth and the wine. The chanters
sing: —
El # RM
z,U ^M m^ R^ x^f
^M m^ ^K ^M '^'^
^w
^\
R± Xf Z.± K^
x1\-
Very slow.
ElT ^*
B
Z.m K
m
^li
B 59
.£2.
"ZZ.
ZSL
is:
Yu
huai
mmg
jC2
Til
cMn
chin
-&-
is:
z^-
m
■zz.
■zz.
tm/nq
yu.
Chan
is:
ta
J2.
ch^Sng.
I
m
ie:
w
Tsu
i
tou
ch'ien
hu.
Ch'un
ch'm
jz:
zz:
-s>-
22:
zz.
zz.
Ch%ng
Mu
chi
OhU
During the third strophe the Emperor kneels twice and knocks his forehead three times
against the ground ; he then offers the sacrificial animals, which have previously been stripped
of their skins, cleansed, and placed on the tables. The singers chant : —
bM 2*1^
^
it
I
^¥=^
ZZL
z.n R^ z.%
B% Z*® ^W
B% lie Bm
f^
-77-
rIY x^
^^ B I
z.m z.i
zz.
zz
1
Bmh
chHen. Sheng
fang
tsa%
hsien.
CHINESE MUSIC.
29
P
.£2.
is:
t'ao
-©-
2/wn(/.
3:
Chiang
fu
1
hsien.
i
is:
is:
zz
J^
i
i
ywig
ijung.
Yii
ym.
s:
g [ I ^
-s^
2:
2z:
ii
i'ao
2/0
shu.
huaii
shan.
During the fourtli strophe the Emperor again kneels twice and knocks his forehead three
times against the groimd ; then he presents incense, pieces of silk, satin, etc, wliich are burnt
in the tripod incense-burner. The chanters sing : —
K^ 2iS
^
2:4 c
z^m rM Z.& K% xs
kM R% 7L^ z.^ Z.^ ^-^ ^
-s-Tlt R\k ^^ xm mM> ^^ ^w 0^ m
xm xM m^ z.^ ^m x^ E3ft 2,^
p
32:
fat
13:
yu
.£2-
"ZZ.
PH
i
is:
pien
(7
chi
Yil
lull
I
tso.
22:
Zo.
-©-
iis:
3:
Wni
tHen
yu
■miw.
Wei
■ihing
shih
jo-
>
CD
«^
1
A
--^
1
J'3
■Cr»
,
.!^j2 1
L
Zim
yu
hsii Ghih
chin
to.
30
CHINESE MUSIC.
During the fifth strophe the Emperor remains. standing before the tablets, while assistants
remove the viands from the hall. The singers say : —
64> z.% 2.# z.m. ^pi ^n 11^ x:5fe
^^ #g ^# II -g^ ^;f^ ^# 11^ K^ ®
X^ 114 1i§ Za% HiJ^R^ 2*jji@ JW
_^2_
■zz.
i
zz
■«-
3:
fl
:22.
Hsien
yu
yen.
CAi
shou
fu.
ISI
-©-
Aai hmng hung.
-a. ^g"
OVou
lean
pu
is:
zz
-s^
1
:zz
£i
(a)
leng
.2L
A;tio
ch'e.
:sz.
Wu
Z2Z
s/lM
fM.
s
2Z
:s£
Lo
Ghung yuan yu shu.
During the sixth and last strophe the spirits are supposed to take their departure. The
singers say : —
^W li-ft liiE L^ ^m R^ rW xM
m^ z.^ R^ Kflg nm TLfs \-Lm ^m j^
^W HM ^H #iJ 2:^ zitr ^?f 0ii® 1$
X Jf X 1^ E3 ^ II
E3
^Ifc Et^ ^lllt
TT"
s:
zz
.^2.
zz
w
Pu
zz
"ZZ.
0.
OAm
2/a)i(?
yang.
:^-
-&-
zz
i
Ching
Uu
.^2.
ZZ
.12.
iij
chao
8siX
1Z.
rung
m
nvmg.
CHINESE MUSIC.
31
i
-&-
•zz.
.^2-
■73"
-rr
■zz:
Hiui.
chmg min.
Yii
chiao hsiang.
During the second, third, and fourth strophes the dancers perform their evolutions.
During the first and last two strophes they remain stationary in a respectful position. By
the word dancing is not meant anything like the fooUsh jumping or endless turning to be met
with in our ball-rooms ; the dancers are grave performers who by their attitudes and evolutions
convey to the eye the feelings of veneration and respect which are expressed by the words.
Evolutions made by Dancers during the Hymn.
32
CHINESE MUSIC.
ELEVENTH.
CHINESE MUSIC. 33
In ancient times also dancing held a conspicuous place in worship, having been first
introduced into the ceremonies by the Emperor Shun (B.C. 2255). It was not till the third
year of Yung-ming in the Ch'i dynasty (^ 77c BJ) (A.D. 485) that an imperial decree ordered
that dancing should form part of the Confucian ceremonies,^ There were at first only civil
dancers {■% H), but the Emperor Ch^n Kuan (^ ||) of the T'ang (@) dynasty (A.D. 650)
introduced also military dancers (g£ ^). The civil dancers, dressed in their court uniform,
had in one hand a long feather and in the other a small stick ; the military officials who took
part in the dance were dressed in fuU miUtary uniform, and had in one hand an axe and in the
other a shield. Under the present dynast^he mihtary dancers have been excluded, and the
number of civil dancers has been fixed at 36, with two chiefs. The long feather called g (ti),
which was anciently composed of three feathers bound together in the form of a trident, has
also been reduced to a single peacock's feather. The little stick, called ^ (yueh), which the
dancers hold in the left hand, was anciently a flute with three holes, on which they played at
intervals ; now it, is a simple stick.
The hymn is sung by two groups of three singers standing east and west of the temple
and facing each other. The pitch of the key-note is given them at each strophe by the bell
instrument. They are accompanied by the other instruments in the following way ; —
The t'e-chung, or large beU, sounds the first note of each verse.
The pien-chung, or bell-chime, gives one soimd at each word, and, in fact, guides the
voices. After the bell-chime the lutes give their note, which is followed by all the other
instruments except the pien-ch'ing, or stone-chime, which is struck after aU the other instru-
ments, in order "to receive the sound and transmit it" to the second note, which is treated
in the same way.
At the end of a verse a drum is beaten three times and answered by another drum, after
which the bell-chime gives the key-note and the next verse is begun.
When the hymn is finished the head of the yii, or "tiger-box," is beaten once, and a
stick is passed rapidly along the projections of its back.
The Emperor then retires, preceded again by the band playing the "Guiding March,"
and at the second gate he enters his chair.
From what precedes it is easy to realise that a ceremony performed during the quiet
hours of night, and with all the requirements of the rites, is really worth seeing; and the
profane who can contrive to be admitted to a quiet corner cannot fail to be deeply and solemnly
impressed.
' -See P ^ ^, book ^ ||.
34 CHINESE MUSIC.
Translation of the Sacrificial Hyjin to Confucius.
I. — Receiving the approaching Spieit.
Great is Confucius !
He perceives things and knows them before the time ;
He is in the same order with Heaven and Eai'th ;
The teacher of ten thousand ages.
There were lucky portens, and on the unicorn's horn a tuft of silk.
The rhymes of the song correspond to the sounds of metal and silk.
The sun and moon were unveiled to us ;
Heaven and Earth were made to look fresh and joyful.
2. — First Presentation of Offerings.
I think of thy bright virtue.
The jade music ends. The music of metal is first heard.
Of living men there never was one like him ;
Truly his teaching is in all respects complete.
The vessels are here with the offerings, the same as dm-ing thousands of years.
At the spring and autumn equinoxes, on the first of the days whose character is "J" (ting),
Clear wine is oifered.
The sweet smell of the sacrifice now first rises.
3. — Second Presentation.
The regular sacrifices should be offered without deficiency.
The chief sacrificer advances in the hall and presents the second offering ;
The harmonious sounds are heard of drum and bell ;
With sincerity the wine cups are offered.
Eeverently and harmoniously
Approach the saorificers, men of honourable fame.
The ceremonies are purifying, the music cleanses the heart ;
They work on each other and reach the point of perfect goodness.
4. — Third and last Presentation.
From antiquity through all the ages
Primitive men have done this.
They wore skin hats ; they offered of the fruit of the groiuid.
How orderly was the music !
Only Heaven guides the people ;
Only the Sage conforms his instructions to the day and hour.
The moral duties are arranged in their proper order.
Till now the wooden clapper sounds.
CHINESE MUSIC. 35
5- — Eemoval op the Viands.
The ancestral teacher said in his instructions :
"Those who sacrifice obtain happiness."
Throughout the four seas, in students' halls,
Who would dare not to be reverential 1
The ceremony concluded, the removal of the offerings is announced.
Let none be neglectful or show want of respect ;
Let their joy be in him who is the source of their culture ;
Let them remember the poem of the beans in the fields, and imitate him."^
6. — Escorting the Spirit back.
The Fu and Yi mountains are very high ;
The Chu and the Ssii spread their waters far, ,
So thy beautiful acts extend their influence above and around,
Causing benefits without end.
Now has been seen the glory of the sacrifice ;
The sacrifice has been made to appear great and beautiful.
He renovates the thousands of our people ;
He fosters our schools and halls for instruction.
' Chung yuan yu shu. This is found in the Book of Odes : " The beans grow in the fields. TKe people gather them.
The ming Ung has a family of grubs. The wasp carries one away on his back. In instructing your children, take care to imitate
this good example."
36
CHINESE MUSIC.
POPULAR MUSIC.
Under this designation must be understood all theatrical, ballad, processional, and
ordinary street-song music.
To perform this music none but common instruments are used : the moon-shaped guitar,
three-stringed guitar, two-stringed violin, clarionet, drums, castanets, etc. In the principal cities
there are concert-halls, to which Chinese are admitted for a few cash to hear a song or a ballad.
The orchestra ordinarily consists of two balloon-shaped guitars (played by girls who sing at
the same time), one three-stringed guitar, one or two violins, one small drum to beat time, one
flute, and one yang-ch'in. All these instruments play, or at least try to play, in unison ; still
it seems to a foreigner not acquainted with their music that each performer has a part of his
own, and that each aims to distinguish himself above his colleagues by making as much noise
as he can. The impression produced on foreign ears is anything but favourable. Still, if patient
attention be paid, it is soon discovered that the performers play in time and well together.
A Cantonese Orchestea.
Professional musicians, like actors, generally belong to the poorest classes of society. .
In Peking they are for the most part blind men ; in Canton nearly all the musician-girls are
blind, except courtesans Hving in " flower boats." It need scarcely be said, therefore, that the
majority of the Chinese professional musicians are totally ignorant of the principles and theory
of music. The only notation they make use of is the one known as the X R (kung-ch'ih), or
"common notation." Music is little practised as a recreative amusement among the Chinese
CHINESE MUSIC. 37
lower classes, but this may be attributed to the fact that they are always so busy, so hard-
working, so gain-seeking, that they find no idle time to devote to pleasure ; stiU it not
unfrequently happens that when passing along the streets towards evening one hears the strains
of a fiddle coming from one shop or another, and should curiosity then lead one to enter, he
might find the shopkeeper or his assistant busily engaged in quite a different pastime from that of
seUing candles or sugar loaves. That music is much liked in China is proved by the numerous
bands of musicians which parade the streets; by the least important festival being never
celebrated without music of some kind; by the constant singiag in the streets of children,
domestics, hawkers, and passers-by. What does it matter that we foreigners find the popular
music detestable if the Chinese themselves are contented with it ? Is not contentment the
first step towards health ? And is not health the condition sine qua non of happiness ?
Well-organised theatrical performances only came into use during the T'ang (J||) dynasty.
The dances which had prevailed up to that time had become so licentious that the Emperor
Yuan Tsung (% ^) (A.D. 720) thought it necessary to prohibit them ; and in their place proper
theatrical representations were instituted.
Theatrical pieces are divided into acts or J|f (cM), and are often preceded by a prologue
or ;j^ .^ (sie-tze), in which the various personages come on the stage to explain their names,
qualities, and the part they are to play.
Singing is the privilege of the principal actor in the piece. He represents generally
a person of great virtue and moral quahties, and his singing consists in pompous eulogies
of what is good and- commendable. The singing is not unfrequently in the "recitative" style,
and the way the orchestra accompanies, in broken, sudden chords or in long notes, bears a
striking resemblance to our European recitative.
Mr. G. C. Stent, of the Chinese Maritime Customs, wrote some years ago a very well-
thought and well-rendered article on "Chinese Lyrics."^ The comparisons between Chinese
and foreign songs are admirably drawn, and are full of wit and humour. I propose to introduce
here some of Mr. Stent's paragraphs including some of the songs translated by him. I have,
however, taken the liberty to replace the music which he has given by the real and correct
tunes, which I have myself carefuUy noted down from hearing them played.
Mr. Stent says : —
" We are all aware that the Chinese are, as it were, an isolated race, and will not allow the privacy
of their homes to be ruthlessly invaded by their own fellow-countrymen and friends, much less by foreigners.
How, then, can we obtain a knowledge of their everyday domestic life ; how know anything of the
thoughts, sentiments, feelings, affections, actions, and the thousand little nameless nothings that help
to make a Chinese home 1 As we are now situated, the knowledge of Chinese domestic
or home life is only to be obtained from three sources — novels, theatricals, and songs. ... In them
foreigners can see Chinese as they really are ; see the interior of their homes, have their daily life vividly
depicted, even to the minutest detail ; hear their endearing expressions Much may be learnt
from theatricals. I do not mean what I should call their spectacular pieces, made up of gorgeous dresses,
. . . . and fighting, but modern farces or comedies ; in them you see a good deal of Chinese life and
inanners, and pick up many a quaint expression or curious custom. A great play upon words is also
often exhibited) in them; absurd mistakes occurring through the similarity in the sounds of characters;
so that) for punning purposes I think the Chinese language is unequalled The songs
• See " Journal of the North-China Branch of the Eoyal Asiatic Society for 1871-72," page 93.
38
CHINESE MUSIC.
I shall introduce .... I have obtained, some for the sake of the rausio, which I have fancied pretty ;,
others, for the (what I have thought) beauty of the language ; others, again, for their absurdity. Here I
may remark that foreigners in this case are very like Chinese. How many songs are published nowadays
that are dowm-ight trash — utterly worthless but for the fact that some of them have pretty tunes. How
many persons play the airs of or sing popular songs when they know the language of them is simply
idiotic. Who cares to know that
' Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines
Fed his horse on corn and beans,'
or that some individual, name unknown, 'feels like a morning star,' which he takes care to repeat
an alarming number of times, the only drawback to his otherwise blissful state of existence being the
pertinacious attacks of a fly, which he endeavours to dispose of summarily by using terms at once
entreating, reproachful, and stem? I quote his own eloquent words, 'Shoo ! fly, don't bother me !' Yet
this kind of song is patronised extensively ; but I trust in the majority of cases only for the music, which
is really cheerful and pleasant, for it would be showing a poor taste for poetry to say one admired the
language. So that however simple or absurd any song I introduce may appear, I claim that it possesses
equal, if not superior, advantages to some of om- own popular songs ; for there is something not generally
known to foreigners to be learnt from evei-y Chinese song, and the music of some is positively pretty,
and would compare favourably with some of our own ballad music Songs or ballads
in Chinese are very similarly arranged to our own, and the mere rhymist would find it an easy matter
to string a number of rhymes together, on account of the construction of the language and the immense
number of characters having similar sounds ; whether they could write poetry or not is another matter.
. . . . I shall at once proceed . . . with the translation of a song called ' Wang torniang,' or, as
we should say, 'Dame Wang.' I have perhaps been free in the translation, and have utterly repudiated
the possibility of my being able to put it into English verse
Wang Ta-niang oe Madame Wang.
i
^
^
:2P=^
^
^a
Sha ch'uang sha ch'uang wai
Ki - pi - ehr-
i
s
?
^
5
M
T— ^
«t-^
tang
Chieh &ir wen sha
yal
3
m^
Ke -pi-ehr
5
i^^^
Wang ta tidang
Wang ta niang chin mtn tso tsai
^
5
^
S
fe
i
ka
ting shang. Chin ndn tso tsai
lo kao
i
3
5
"¥T
ho
ho
hai
' The translation runs thus :-
CHINESE MUSIC. 39
PiEST Verse.
B3* 5^ !S M> "M. W> Pi From the outside of the gauze windows
P^ PT PJy Si ii 1^ Came the sound of a neighbour's tapping.
I@ II ^ fpj 5^ JJ. The girl within exclaimed, ' Who is it 1'
J^ ;^ 2 5i M I® ' "^'® y°^^ neighbour, Wang ta-niang.'
iBT-ffi^P^MSS^I Dame Wang entered the door, and sat down
"J" J^ on a high stool.
^ /^ ~. /g. — . Heigh-ho ! heigh-ho !
® f@ S fS f Ij ^ PS" ^ II & GiKi' Goq.): 'You treat me lightly by not coming oftener
T -fc to my poor place.'
Second Vebsb.
m iR ^ H ii ii^ ""^ D.W. : Drew the flower-embroidered curtains,
§ -^ BSl :^ ^ K Inhaled the fragrance of the cosmetics,
iS" ^ 1^ ifl )^ iljfc Turned down the red damask counterpane,
51^ ^ H Pjb BiJi Looked at the girl,
'^Af@i9/?» 6'&®5S^I^ '^^^ perceived that she had fallen away to a
"J iM mere shadow.
^ A, w- A — Heigh-ho ! heigh-ho !
SST#-SiJ?>5cMjliliifi — & I>-W. (loq.): ' WeU, Miss, and how have you been these last
few days V
Thied Verse.
835 5c ^ sS ^ 3^ ''^ Girl (sings): ' For the last few days I have had no energy or
S 11 31 5i 5S life whatever,
W .M i© ffi -ifit ^ With no inclination even for my tea,
fi ^ ^ -ifii M ^^ "^^ appetite whatever for my food,
~I ffl H W RT ?S S 'I'll ?!■ is ^ ^°^' hot):i tea and food I have felt such repug-
np /^ . A. _ nance that I have had great difficulty in
taking them.
Heigh-ho ! heigh-ho !'
H Bi Bi 5|S ^ -fi f® ft f4^ H & D. W. (loq.): ' ShaU I call in a doctor to look at you V
Fourth Verse.
W i&W '^ M iSL ^ GmL(sings): 'I'll not call in one, for I do not want him.
ffe ^ ^- 'lE» ^ SZ If I were to send for a doctor, he would only
SS" ^ ^ tt 1® tS be feeling my pulse and sounding me ;
}@ }S X ^ ^ And I am afraid of feeling and sounding.
T ffl # iK 5i: RT is JS ® *l ^ Heigh-ho ! heigh-ho !'
1^ JK '^ ^ 1@ If f4> ^ & ^•^* r%J-' 'Shall I send for a Buddhist priest for youV
40 CHINESE MUSIC.
Fifth Veesb.
1^ ^ ^ /j^ it j^ Pg GmhfdngsJ: 'I'll not send for Mm either, for I do not want
ftfc ^ :^ 4 ^ SX him.
^ /Sfc -f^ f j@ H If I invite a Buddhist priest, he will only be
^ .^ jjr^ ^ ^ jingling and banging ;
7* f g § i^ ^ pj" £ ^ pj: ^ ^ And I am afraid of jingling and banging.
• p^ -^ 'S' — Heigh-ho ! heigh-ho V
H ^ Pi ^J f@ 11 #: ^ & D. W. floq.J: ' Shall I call in a Lama priest for you V
Sixth Verse.
GmLfsinffsJ: 'I'll not call Mm either, for I do not want him.
If I send for a Lama, he will only be singing
and chanting ;
And I am afraid of singing and chanting.
Heigh-ho ! heigh-ho !'
D. W. (loq.): ' Shall I call in an exorcist for you?'
m^mx^mum
i^mj^HLmu
^^^mmmm
m m^m^t
M
:g rt #j Pi m m Pi
pt '^ - '^ -
H
^mmmmw^M^
m^mi^mum
f&^^ ^MM
et ^ 1 *^ fi n
#j mxmm
M
^ rt m m m m m
m^~^~
M
T^mm^^^mm^
Tta
Seventh Verse.
GiRhf sings J: 'I will not send for her either, nor do I want
her.
For if I called in an exorcist, she would repeat
spells and incantations ;
T tfi H iSZ :^ RT #J P? MR "S M ^^^ I am afraid of spells and incantations.
Heigh-ho ! heigh-ho !'
Mi^^^^MM^^M^'^ D-W. (loq. J: 'You don't want this, and you don't want that;
PS 6^ # ^ ^ :^ ^ how did you get this sickness of yours V
Eighth Verse.
Ba* 11 ^ H ^ H P§ GiRhfsingsJ: 'The third month, ah ! in the third month,
^ iW :^ -^ H At the ' pure and bright ' period,
83" ^ §2. ■?£ 1^ ^6 When the peach blossoms were opening.
^ W 3L^ ^ ^^^ ^^^ willows were bursting forth into green,
T:SS^Rr#i-dFS'PPl^i ^ ™^* * young gentleman who was taking a
1^ ^ — ,^ — spring stroll.
Heigh-ho ! heigh-ho !'
M^ U ifr> ^ MM '^ MM "^ ^-^^ (loq.): ' Spring stroll or not, what had that to do with
you?'
Ninth Verse.
S j^ ^ X #1 Pi Gmh( sings): ' He loves me, for I am a fair and beautiful girl ;
y< ^T^wM. And / love Mm, too, for he is young and a
PJ3- fife ^ 31 ^ ^ student,
^ ^ — ^ ^ And I have spoken a few words of love to him.
TISe5'IS*'&]iiT^fi&'&^ Heigh-ho ! heigh-ho !'
^MM ft^ 'ffi 7 'If iE :^ '1 p & 1^-W. (loq.): 'Love or not love, are you not afraid of your
S 'M parents knowing it V
CHINESE MUSIC. 41
Tenth Verse.
fi^* # ¥ n^ 3K, P§ GmiifsingsJ: ' My father is seventy-eight years of age,
/V ^ 'H "T -C And my mother is deaf, besides her eyes are
mmm^u dim;
1-B X rR ii fl* I am not in the least afraid of them.
7 tS ;^ ^ RT 1^ A r SB ff9 m Heigh-ho ! heigh-ho !'
^ JE ^B i$ ^ {*)> ffi /F 6 I>.'W.(loq.J: 'Are you not afraid your elder brother and
his wife will know it ^ '
Eleventh Vbbse.
PS" If # 60 ^ Pi 'G,isl( sings): 'My elder brother is seldom at home,
^ 'tt 4'> ft ft And his wife is constantly at her mother's
■^m^^t^U house;
So I am not at all afraid of those two either.
Heigh-ho ! heigh-ho ! '
T 16 Tv ^ rT ^ A - SB ff3 m
P^ '&-"&-
S 3iii ^D ^ ffl- fij^ IS '^ & D.W. (loq.): 'Ai-e you not afraid of your sisters knowing it?'
Twelfth Verse.
Pj^" SE M 6'5 ^ Pi GriB.ii( sings): 'Between my elder sister and myself there is
« ^C -7 Sit f no great difference,
W !^ ^ 64 & And my yoxinger sister is too young to know
^^11^*1?^ anything.
IS 64 'P "" -^ ^ 64 i?l SB ff5 P& ^^ y°^^ ^"^^ I express the same opinions.
J Heigh-ho ! heigh-ho ! '
PE tt JS i!§ fi)^ S & I>- W. (loq.): ' And what is it you wish ? '
Thibtebnth Verse.
M ^'^'S.W^^Wl GiRLfsings): ' Oh ! my dear Mrs. Wang, I look upon you
S.^ Si ^ f® i^ 5^' ^ ™y adopted mother ' (hastily falls on,
Pf ^ T 'It ^ M ^«^ *»««4
Jj^^ gg ^ vg. ^ 'On my knees I entreat you to be so in reality,
as-j'^cKgeiga ©.^BK'^?^ ^nd arrange this affair successfully for me.
■y Heigh-ho ! heigh-ho ! '
Pfi ~r /R ^ JSS ^ D.W. (loq.): 'And if it cannot be completed successfully?'
TP&5E^^RrT^SB^.^Pi GriBL(sings): 'If it cannot be completed, then I shall die of
bitterness.
Heigh-ho ! heigh-ho ! '
^--&-
"I fancy," says Mr. Stent, "some of my hearers saying 'What rubbish !' Yes, it is rubbish. And
yet there is a great deal to be learnt from this song, puerile as it appears in English, — more so than could
be learnt from the two ' popular songs ' I just now quoted ; for in this we discover that there is amongst
42
CHINESE MUSIC.
the Chinese, as with us, sickly sentimentality— love-sickness, in fact,— and we learn, moreover, the supersti-
tious remedies suggested. First, the doctor (I do not include him of course under the head of ' superstitious
remedies') ; the young lady knows well that all the doctors in the world, with their pulse-feeling; priests,
with their banging of cymbals, etc. ; Lamas, with their chantings ; and exorcists, with their incantations,
are useless. She is afraid of all these characters, but, from various causes, she is not in the slightest
degree afraid of her own family. Another thing we learn, that there is such a thing as ' sweethearting '
or love-making amongst them ; it may be indulged in by stealth — a great deal is done in that way in our
own countries ; but it remains a fact, in spite of father, mother, or friends, she meets this young gentleman,
and actually tells him she loves him, and to all appearance, too, without his even asking her, though
for the credit of the fair sex I trust he may have done so, although she omitted mentioning it. At
another place she says, ' He loves me because I am beautiful ; and / Ime him,' not because he is handsome,
but because 'he is young and a student;' this shows that although young ladies may not study themselves,
they like those who do. So here we have mutual love among this ceremonious people : ' He loves me and
I love him ;' and to wind up all, if the girl does not succeed in marrying this young gallant, we have the
promise of her dying of bitterness — in other words, dying broken-hearted
" The next song I shall introduce is called, as I shall translate it, —
The Haunts of Pleasure, or "Yen-hua-liu hsiang."
■!lH^1 l .i i1I.L,M,L-ihVJ l Ll
%' \ ^ •
2
■^-
L^ N
^
Yen hua
ya
liu
i
^S—
5
S
1 y * *^ <)
Nu
ch'un
ch'ai
[.n^lHIIl^lj l vi
^
*) *
ya
Lien
ch'a
huan
fm Tail chi hua &ir
^
i^
■& •-T
¥ai ya
Hao
hsien
lai.
Ha! ha! ha!
m
*==(
^
•I— #
m
ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!
Ai ya i ho hai
Ch'ai.
Ch'i 16.
Ian
chao
pai.
Sa! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!
CHINESE MUSIC. 43
There are in all 13 verses in this song, but I give here only the Chinese text of the
first verse :—
mtmm
m m fM
PJ PI p? - BI n
m m m
This song is also known under the name + 5. ^ i?^ (Shih-wu t'o hua), " The Fifteen
Bunches of Flowers."
Mr. Stent continues : —
" One would not imagine by the tune that the words of this song related to a very painful subject.
There is a pathos and plaintiveness in the language which are very affecting, and most of the ideas
are conveyed figuratively. I will not attempt to translate it, for indeed I feel I could not do justice
to it, so I will simply give a general outline of it A girl bemoans her hard fate, and
bitterly reproaches her parents for their hard-heartedHess and covetousness in selling her, when quite a child,
to a life of infamy. She, in pathetic language, describes her progress step by step in guilt, and the many
incidents connected with such a life ; flattered and caressed if successful, beaten severely with a whip if the
reverse, till, as she touchingly expresses it, 'the tears trickled down my poor little face;' on to old age,
with youth and beauty gone, everyone looking on her with contempt, no friends or relations to notice her,
no son to burn incense for her when she is dead ; what has she to hope for 1 Winding up with a prayer
to heaven to protect her and send someone to take her from that hon-ible life, enable her to be virtuous,
so that she may get on the road to heaven. There is something peculiarly pathetic in this song, and
much also to reflect on, for we learn from it that girls are remorselessly sold by their parents to a life of
infamy; probably two-thirds of the unfortunate beings we see being sold in a similar way, very few
indeed taking to it by choice. What struck me most . . was the earnest prayer at the end
of the song. No talk of ' chin-chin-ing Joss,' but a direct prayer to heaven. There is something inexpres-
sibly touching also in another part; she almost reproaches heaven for giving her the 'peach-blossom destiny '
when she exclaims, , ' Heaven's heart must have felt resentment against me, or why allow the two characters
"peach blossom" to alight on me? Why not cause them to fall on some other person? Surely, in my
former life I could not have cultivated virtue ?' To understand this my heai-ers must bear in mind that
in Chinese fortune-telling certain characters are lucky or unlucky, as the case may be; and the two
characters }^ :j^, ' peach blossom, ' are considered particularly unlucky, for if they fall on a male child
it is believed he will grow up a profligate, if a female, that she will become fallen ; so that parents
consider it onjinous of the future fate of their children, should they be so unfortunate as to have a
' peach-blossom destiny.'
Mr. Stent gives several other songs and ballads, but not having been able to verify
the music, I refrain from inserting them here.
6
44
CHINESE MUSIC.
Tlie following air is exceedingly popular in North China ; it is entitled ^ i| ^ ^9 &
(Ma-ma hao ming-pai), " Oh, mamma ! you understand me well."
tr
§l^^=^&^ *^ \) I "\^.J -^^^^
-r^
;il=;fe
^t JLiTj
^
M
^
jj ijj*i^ ^
m « J J^ I M J -
J ' N
5^
jj:^ I rjT? I
^
^
The following ballad is called + Zl g ft and contains no less than 48 couplets
However, the first .couplet only is given here : —
Moderato. Orchestra.
i
^
^
TSt
LliJ I 'im u ^ I
Voice.
^
^
-•r^
«7
^P
■er
^
K3=S
3 1 ^1 •'OV]
IE M MM
m en
Orchestra.
m
ii^'i I'j 'i
^
s
^
CTifogf yu - eh shih
JE M M
m en
3ftC
m
^
Voice.
^
5
uJ i] ^jj J
^
Chang fu
CHINESE MUSIC.
45
m
^
^
t3t^
E
■%=-
S
^
"jS^
ch'u
ffi
cMng
ch'u sm
hua/n
^
Orchestra.
3rf:
S
^^^
^
^^
p=^
Voice.
H%ia - ttng trh
xovL. hsin
S/io« sW/i hung ho
Orchestra.
^
* » « l1« i^
1 ^ ■^^}j^
^
^^
^^■^I]^ i | i-1ii |im[if^
i
^
^=^
: \ \ B.C.
Jn conclusion, I give the two times played ordinarily at funeral and nuptial processions.
Both are exceedingly original and really worthy of a better interpretation than that afforded
by the shrieking clarionet.
46
CHINESE MUSIC.
Funeral Maech.
Yery slow.
^
■I rn /3
^3
3
^
^^
2
/7\
i
a
'i V^ M
*:
it=
rail.
a tempo.
i
^
5
5
S
^
-»
S
35:
:ll B.C.
Wedding March.
Moderato.
^) 3!< ^ ' ' *l g> ^ ' I '^ ^ i^
^
^ I VI L3 I 1
I i J Mj I v \n 1 1TJ r
J ^ ^l\ I i J i §
/^
CHINESE MUSIC.
47
DESCRIPTION OF INSTRUMENTS.
Chinese musical instruments might be divided into two distinct categories — first, those
of a somewhat complicated workmanship, used in the ritual ceremonies, and which are held
sacred; and second, those of a common, primary form, used in popular music. But in order
to keep in accord with the poetical spirit of the Chinese, I will follow the classification adopted
by them.
It has been said above that according to Chinese ideas music is nothing but the
expression of the perfect harmony existing between heaven, earth, and man. The numerous
comparisons derived from this principle have also been mentioned. If the Chinese imagined
the existence of certain resemblances or affinities between music and creation; if they found
the idea of their system in natural phenomena ; if they discovered in the 1 2 moons and the 5
planets the basis of their 12 lus and 5 notes; finally, if the jiip g (shen-li), or spiritual principle
of music, was derived from heavenly regions, it is evident that the instruments (which represent
t^^ Ml Wi (ch'i-shu), or material principle) were to be found in the natural productions of earth.
The Chinese therefore put Nature under contribution for the production of eight kinds
of instruments corresponding to the eight symbols /\ ^, (pa-kua) of Fu Hsi, which, they
beUeve, are the expression of all the changes and permutations which take place in the imiverse.
I give here a table showing the order of the sonorous bodies, with the symbols, the
points of the compass, the seasons, and the instruments to which they correspond : —
No.
Sonorous
Bodies.
Kuas or
F0 Hsi's Symbols.
Points of
the Compass.
Seasons.
Instruments.
I
2
3
4
S
6
7
8
N.W.
W.
S.
E.
S.E.
N.
N.E.
S.W.
Autumn-winter
Autumn
The stone-chime.
The bell-chime.
The lute.
The flute.
The tiger-box.
The drum.
The reed-organ.
The porcelain-cone.
^ Vh'ien
Metal
a. Tui
Silk
Summer
m Li
Spring
WfnnA
'
Spring-summer
Winter
G^r^■n
Grourd
Winter-spring
Summer-autumn
^Mn
if K'un = :=
In the following description the instruments will be grouped under one of the above
eight categories, according to the material they are made of, but they wiU also be distinguished
by a consecutive series of numbers, which will unite them in one whole group.
48
CHINESE MUSIC.
1°. STONE.
The use of sonorous stone to make musical instruments may be said to be peculiar
to China. At all events, the Chinese were the first to give stone a place in music ; their classics
frequently mention the stone-chime as being known by the ancient Emperors and held in great
esteem. Unfortunately, of the music and the iastruments in use during the Hsia, Shang, and
Chou dynasties, nothing remains but a few books which escaped the destruction ordered by
the Emperor She Ht7Ang-ti ; i and under the Emperor Ch'^ng Ti (j^ ^) (B.C. 32) a complete
stone-chime was discovered in a pool, where it had been thrown, and from this model new
chimes were made.
The best stone for chimes is said to be jade, but another kind of black calcareous stone
is generally preferred, because it is easier to work and comparatively much cheaper.
No. I. — The T'S-ch'ing (^ ^), or " single sonorous stone," is a stone cut in the shape of
a carpenter's square, and supposed to render the sound of the triple octave below hucmg-chung.
The side which is to be struck by the performer's hammer measures 2.25 feet; the other side
is only 1.8 feet in length. It is suspended in a frame by means of a string passing through
a hole bored at the apex. It is also known under the name of g|| ^ (li-ch'ing), perhaps on
' W ^ = f-e i:
CHINESE MUSIC.
49
account of its sound being so deep. Its place at the Confucian ceremonies is outside the temple,
on the left side of the " M6on Terrace." Its use is to give one single note at tlie end of each
verse, in order to "receive the sound." ^ Formerly the stone was cut in a fantastical form,
representing some monstrous animal, fish, dragon, or the like. According to the "Illustrated
Description of the Instruments of the present Dynasty"^ there are 12 i'e-cA'mc)', one corresponding
to each of the liisj and they are employed only at the religious and court ceremonies.
No. 2. — The Pien-ch'ing (|g ^), or " stone-chime," is an instrument composed of 16
stones suspended on a frame. The stones, which measure 1.8 feet one way and 1.35 feet the
other, are aU of equal length and breadth, and differ only in thickness ; the thicker the stone
the deeper the sound.
i^m^m- ^^M
a H jpl ^ ffl ^-
50
CHINESE MUSIC.
Formerly the size of the stones was in a gradually diminishing progression, following the
degrees of the scale of the liis. The number of stones has also not always been the same. The
ancient Chinese used i6 stones; the Hans, 19; the Liang, 21 ; the Wei, 24; the Northern Chou,
14; the Ming, 24. K'ang Hsi reverted to the old custom, which, besides, had been the one
prevalent during the Chin (^), Sung (^), Ch'i (^), and Sui (|^) dynasties.^
The music for the pien-ch'ing is expressed by means of the names of the 12 liis, but only
the first syllable of each name is used, as huang, instead of Jmang-diung ; ta, instead of ta-lii, etc.
In ancient times the 16 stones represented the sounds of the 12 ordinary liis and of
the first four liis of the acute series. The present dynasty has abolished the four acute lus (the
four ^ (ch'ing) as they were called), and in their place the four liis immediately below huang-
chung have been selected ; these are called jg (pei), that is, double. The scale of the pien-
ch'ing is actually as follows : —
Wu.
Upper
Column.
^
P
I.
13- ^11.^9. ±7- mS-
Jui. Ku. T'ad. JSuang.
Tin
■'ei-wu.
fei-i.
■It^ :tfg tf
c*
-^-
t
Lower
Column.
]ii6. ^14-
Ying. Nan.
If; 12. ii|i 10.
Lin. Chung.
Chia.
^. fc
^'- '£"• r-
Ta. Pei-ying. Fei-nan.
<
i
■77-
CT^
f
zr
The notes of the
upper column
correspond to
the yang lus.
The notes of the
lower column
correspond to
the yin lus.
To illustrate further the notation of the pien-ch'ing's music, I give here the part which
this instrument has to perform during the first strophe of the Hymn to Confucius : —
Huang-chang is to be the key-note and the Double /-fee" is to begin the air.
i
j:^
!E
"Z7"
JiZ.
.^^
b:©:
W^
■&■
-cr
f$
^#^LII
^^
i^
■©■
M
■^■
-zr
V.
"^■
±
^
±
b;
n
^
±
m
± i^ m
m
K ^ ^ ^
(The sign V means that the Chinese equivalent note is nearly J tone higher than the sound represented
by the Western note. The A means that it is nearly |- tone lower.)
CHINESE MUSIC.
51
In tMs pien-ch'ing piece the Chinese note ^ H (pei-i) cannot be properly rendered in
foreign notation, because it is in reahty higher than Ab and lower than Abj ; the same occurs
with the note H (i), which is lower than G# and higher than Gb|.
It has been already said that in the' transpositions of the tones to form the different scales
the intervals do not remain the same ; this is due to the Chinese scales being formed of perfect
fifths brought into the compass of an octave.^ But the reader may ask, why do the Chinese
not use the note ^ ^ (pei-nan) (A) instead of f§ 3| (pei-i) (Ab), and the note i^ (lin) (G)
instead of ^ (i) (G^) ? Because the two notes proposed correspond to the yin lu series, and
when the key-note of a scale is a yang lu, all the notes composing that scale must absolutely be
yang lils ; and when the key-note is a yin lib, all the notes have to correspond to the yin liis.
There is no other explanation, and the Chinese aim is attained, viz., to prove the irrefutable
connexion of their music with astronomy and Nature.
The pien-ch'ing is exclusively used in court and religious ceremonies ; it would be con-
sidered a profanation to use it elsewhere. There is one of these instruments in each Confucian
temple and imperial place of worship in the Empire, and no doubt the imperial palaces and
residences contain many of the best kind ; but it is impossible to find a complete pien-ch'ing
for sale, although separate stones may be found.
At the Confucian temple this instrument is placed on the west side of the temple, on a
line with the t'i-ch'ing. Its special part is to give one sound at the end of each word, in order
to " receive the" sound " and transmit it to the next word.
It is not known to whom and to what dynasty the invention of the pien-ch'ing may
be attributed, but there is no doubt that it is one of the most ancient instruments.
No. 3. — The Ko-ch'ing (^ g), or "singers' stone-chime," which has now totally dis-
appeared, was an instrument the same in principle as the pien-ch'ing, with these exceptions :
it was composed of either 12 or 24 stones, which were cut in fantastical forms; the pitch was
1 The Chinese recognise the necessity of flattening or sharpening certain notes to adapt them to a change of
key. Compare the " Eclysis " and " Bobole "'of the Greeks.
7
52 CHINESE MUSIC.
an octave higher, and the notes, instead of following each other in two series of 'yin and yang
sounds, were placed in a chromatic succession.
No. 4. — The Yil-ti (3g !§■) and the Yil-hsiao (^ H) are two flutes, exactly the same
as the ordinary flute ; the only difference being that the material employed is marble instead
of bamboo. The Chinese think that stone is less susceptible to changes of temperature,
and therefore is best adapted to preserve the real sound of the lus. For description, see
" 4". Bamboo," below.
No. 5. — The Hai-lo (^ ^), or " conch," although not properly a stone instrument, is
classified here for convenience. It is a large sea-shell of conical form, with a hole in the apex
through which to blow. It is used only by soldiers, watchmen, etc., and principally for the
same purposes as those for which we use the bugle in Europe.
2°. METAL.
Metal is one of the five elements. It comes from earth, say the Chinese, and still it is a
substance of quite a different nature.'^ It was necessary, therefore, to give it a place in music,
and this was done in the earhest ages, for we see in the " Miscellaneous Treatise of Prince Lu "
(B.C. 300) that "the Emperor Huang Ti (B.C. 2697) ordered Ling Lun to cast 12 bells to agree
with the 12 liis and the five sounds."^ Bells are also frequently mentioned in the classics.
Bell-metal is composed of six parts of copper and one of tin. When melting, the alloy
appears first to be of an impure dark colour, which, however, soon changes into a yellowish
white ; this colour gradually passes to a greenish white, and when this last colour has become
gi'een, the metal may be poured int9 ■ the mould. The mould itself must be made exactly
according to the proper dimensions, for " if the bell is wide and short, the sound will not reach
a great distance ; if the metal is too thick, it will emit no sound ; if the mouth is too large, the
sound will be too loud."^
BeUs of all sizes, from those weighing more than 50 tons down to the small ones which
swing on the eaves of pagodas, used to be found all over China. Some are ornamented with
characters (mostly sentences in honour of Buddha), some with designs and symbols; some are
round, some are square; and all are used mainly for rehgious purposes. At the door of each
Buddhist temple a bell is to be seen, which the believers strike "to call the attention of the
sleeping gods."
No. 6. — The Yung-chung (ig ^), or " large beU," ought to be 4.5 feet in height and have
a mouth of 2.8125 feet diameter, gradually decreasing towards the apex. The Chinese say
that it was made to correspond with a very big drum; the one was not to be used without
the other, for the drum had to give the signal to begin and the bell had to announce the
end of the hymn at the ceremonies. Though now no longer in use, both instruments are
stni to be seen. At the temple of Confucius, in the same court in which stands the hall,
are two small pagodas, one to the east, the other to the west of the hall and in front of it.
.'S^l5iff&l&« + -afD5 t>tc. See g J5 § ^.
W
W
CHINESE MUSIC.
53
In the east pagoda, to which access is gained by ascendmg a few steps, hangs a big drum,
somewhat damaged by its exposure in the open air; and in the other pagoda on the .vest
the large bell is suspended.
No. 7.— The Po-chung (^ |g) is a single bell suspended upon a frame, and corresponding
to the if^-ch'ing, or "single sonorous stone." When this bell sounds, the r^-ch'img must answer. 1
It measures 3.6 feet in length, and has a diameter of 2.25 feet, which gradually decreases
towards the top. There are 12 po-chv/ng, corresponding to the 12 Ms, and intended to meet the
changes of key which occur according to the seasons. The measurements here given correspond
to the huang-chung, or first bell. The po-chung is placed outside the temple (at the Confucian
ceremonies), on the right side of the " Moon Terrace." It has to give one note at the beginning
of each verse, in order to " manifest the sound " — in other words, to give the pitch. It is struck
with a wooden hammer. It was called sung-chung during the middle ages.
'^m3im,^M^m-
54
CHINESE MUSIC.
No. 8. — The Pien-chung (|| ^), or " bell-cliime," is an instrument composed of i6 bells
suspended upon a frame. It is made on the same principle as the pien-ch'ivg, or " stone-
chime," and, like that instrument, is of the greatest antiquity. The Yellow Emperor —
Huang Ti (B.C. 2697) — used a chime composed of 12 bells, agreeing with the lus j the Chou
dynasty (B.C. iioo to 255) had chimes of six and nine bells, decreasing gradually in size and
diameter; of these, however, nothing remains but a meagre description in the native records.
CHINESE MUSIC.
55
In subsequent ages various kinds of chimes were made : some were composed of 24 bells, corre-
sponding to two series of Ills ; others of 16 bells, corresponding to the 12 lus plus the first four
liis of the acute series; others of 14 bells, corresponding to the notes of the diatonic scale,
C, D, E, etc. ; in a word, this instrument underwent the same changes as the " stone-chime."
Anciently the bells were quadrate ; under the T'ang (A.D. 600, and after) and subsequent
dynasties the bells were oval and were adorned with mammse in gi'oups of nine each ; the mouth
was crescent-shaped, and they were hung obliquely. The Sung (A.D. 1000) provided each bell
with a knob, by which it could be hung in a vertical position. But K'ang Hsi, of the present
dynasty, abolished the ancient forms and adopted round bells, ornamented with the pa-kua
symbols, and having on the top a dragon, by which they could be suspended. Chimes were
made of 16 bells, aU of the same size and diameter, but differing in thickness and weight. These
are the chimes now in use.
The music, the pitch, the notation, etc., of the pien-chung is exactly the same as that
of the "stone-chime;" and, like this latter instrument, it is exclusively devoted to court and
religious ceremonies. Wherever a stone-chime is used, a bell-chime is requisite; they are
necessary one to the other : the bell-chime sounds and the stone-chime answers.
At the Confucian temple the pien-chung is placed on the east side on a line with
the po-chung. It gives one note at the beginning of each word, to intimate the pitch to
the singers.
No. 9. — The Ko-chung (^ Q), or " singers' bell-chime," is now no longer in use. It
was constructed exactly on the same principle as the pien-chung, but it sounded an octave
higher. It was the companion of the ko-ch'ing. The bells were either 12 or 24 in number,
and they were quadrate or crescent-shaped. The place of this instrument during the Confucian
56
CHINESE MUSIC.
ceremonies was on the riglit side of the hall; it sounded one note at the beginning of each
word. The pien-chuTig has now quite taken its place, and even single specimens of quadrate
bells are seldom to be found.
No. 10. — The Wei-shun (Jf |f) is a very ancient bell of the Chou dynasty. It had the
shape of a balloon, and was suspended singly upon a frame. It was 1.35 feet in height; the
upper diameter was i.i feet, and the lower diameter measured 8.3 inches. It was suspended
by a knob shaped somewhat like the ^ (wei), monkey. This animal is said to have a yellowish
grey head, a forked tail, and an upward nose ; in rainy weather it hangs from the branches of
trees by putting the two ends of its tail into its nostrils, and so forming a circle. From it was
derived the Chinese idea of suspending their bells.
The wei-shun was used mostly for the ceremonies at the Temple of Ancestors, where
it corresponded to some kind of drum which has also disappeared.
It has been said that this instrument "is simply a large bell, with small round bells
suspended in it to act as a tongue, the sound thereby produced being exceedingly shrill." ^
"N. B. Dennts, "Journal of the North-Ohina Branch of the Eoyal Asiatic Society, 1874."
CHINESE MUSIC.
57
No. II. — The Shun (IJ). This is the literary appellation of an instrument shaped like
a mortar. The popular name is g (eking). It is struck with a wooden hammer, and when
used at the religious ceremonies is put into a kind of silk purse richly ornamented with costly
fish scales. It ought to measure 1.3 feet in height and g\ inches in diameter.
No. 12. — The To (^f), or "tongued bell," is an ordinary bell having either a metal or
a wooden tongue, and a handle at the apex. Formerly there were four different kinds of
tongued bells in use in the army. The ringing of the to conveyed to the soldiers the injunction
to stand stiU and be quiet in the ranks. Hence this bell came to be associated with the idea of
respect and veneration ; and when music was performed to illustrate the meritorious actions of
warriors, faithful ministers, etc., the to was employed to symbohse obedience; each military
dancer had a to with a metal tongue, and each civil dancer had one with a wooden tongue ;
it was used at the end of the dance.
At present the to is used only by bonzes to mark the rhythm of their prayers.
No. 1 3. — The Lo (^), or " gong," is cast in the shape of a platter or a Chinese straw hat
with large brim;, it is of various sizes, varying, from 2 inches to 2 feet in diameter. It is
suspended by a string, and struck with a mallet. The use of this noisy instrument is very
general. At the gates of yamens it announces the arrival of visitors ; in the army it gives the
signal of retreat ; in processions it frightens and drives away evil spirits ; on board ship it
announces departure; during eclipses "it frightens the heavenly dog when about to devour
the paoon"; in ^ongs it marks the time; in the streets a small gong is the sign of the candy
merchant, and a large one may announce the approach of the district magistrate with his
retinue ; in Buddhist temples it is beaten to call the attention of the " sleeping gods."
Native /descriptions rarely mention the gong, perhaps because it is popular merely and
is not required for imperial worship.
No. 14. — The Yiln-lo (§ H), or "gong chimes," is an instrument composed of 10 little
gongs suspended upon a frame by fine silk cord. The gongs are all of the same diameter, but
they differ in thickness. The yiin-lo is used at court, mainly on joyful occasions; at the
58 CHINESE MUSIC.
Confucian worship it is required only in the "Guiding March." It is to be seen sometimes at
wedding and funeral processions, but it appears there sirdply for form's sake ; the hired coolie
who has charge of it for the occasion strikes pitUessly right and left, without regard for the
tune his companions are playing. The specimen he carries is also very often a worthless one.
It has become exceedingly difficult to find a yiln-lo capable of giving a satisfactory gamut;
besides, the pitch is not uniform, so that two yiln-los rarely agree. The scale is ordinarily
C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E, or, in Chinese notes, ^,m,Zj> ±. K. X. /L> aJ. 5L. 1L- The relative
positions of the notes in the frame may be represented by numbers as follows : —
10
9 8 7
4 S 6
3 2 I
No. 15. — The Po {^), or "cymbals," are made on exactly the same principle as our
Western instrument. They are said to have come originally from India.^ The use of them
is most conspicuous (and particularly disagreeable to foreigners) at theatrical performances.
After a quotation, a command, a verse, etc., the cymbals give 10 or 15 notes in rapid succession,
and as the actor generally speaks in a falsetto, imitative voice, the words are almost inaudible.
No. 16. — The Fing-ling (g(, |^), or "wind bells," are small beUs hung at the eaves of
houses and pagodas, the clappers of which, having streamers attached, are swung by the wind.
During the time of the T'ang (^) dynasty the feng-ling was suspended in the examination
haUs.2
No. 17. — The Hao-t'ung (^ ^) is a long cylindrical instrument having a sliding tube,
which can be drawn out when wanted for use. In arrangement and form it is not unlike a
telescope, but of much larger diameter. There are two distinct varieties. The first comprises
instruments of different sizes made of wood and covered on the outside with copper ; they are
exclusively used at funeral processions, and emit only one long grave note, which is heard at a
long distance. The second variety includes instruments made of copper only; they are of a
less diameter than the first and are used for military purposes.
^ Compare with the Hebrew Metzilloth.
2 N. B. Dennts, "Journal of the North-China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1874."
CHINESE MUSIC. 59
No. 1 8. — The La-pa (e|ij p/^) is a long trumpet with a sliding tube similar to that of the
hao-t'ung} It gives four notes, C, G, C, E, and is properly a military instrument ; but it is also
the privilege of itinerant knife-grinders to use it to make known their whereabouts in the streets.
Another variety of tlie la-pa is crooked, and therefore is called i^\^ ^ (cha-chiuo) ; it is of various
sizes and is used at wedding processions.
3°. SILK.
Silk holds perhaps the first place amongst the natural productions employed in music,
not only on account of the great variety of instruments whose strings are made chiefly of silk,
but also because stringed instruments can boast of the greatest antiquity. The classics and
other ancient books make frequent mention of the ch'in and the se in connexion with the
first rulers of China ; the descriptions which they contain are of the most exalted kind, and are
fuU of allegorical comparisons, of which I will give an idea below.
No. 19. — The Ch'in (^), is one of the most ancient mstruments, and certainly the most
poetical of all. It was invented by Fu Hsi, who called it ch'in, referring to restriction, prohibition,^
because its influence checks the evil passions, rectifies the heart, and guides the actions of the
body. The dimensions, the number of strings, the form, and whatever is connected with this
instrument had their principles in Nature. Thus, the ch'in measured 3.66 feet or ^ of an
inch, because the year contains a maximum of 366 days; the number of strings was five, to
agree with the five elertxents ; the upper part was made round, to represent the firmament ;
the bottom was flat, to represent the ground; and the 13 studs stood for the 12 moons and
the intercalary moon.
The strings also were subjected to certain laws. The thickest string was composed of 240
threads, and represented the Sovereign; the second and fourth strings contained each 206
threads; and the third and fifth 172 threads.
It is doubtful if all these remarkable similarities and comparisons are stiU adhered to
and regarded. The ch'in of the present day retains the primary form, but the number of strings
has been increased to seven. These strings pass over a bridge near the wide end, and then
through the board, and are tightened by nuts below ; at the smaller end they are tightened on
two pegs.
The 13 studs should be of metal, the board of flU (t'ung) wood, and the nuts of marble
or jadestone ; and the silk should come from some particular place.^
1 Compare with the Chatzozerah of the Hebrews and the Tuba of the Eomans.
' ^ ^ 4 ^ ifc l5a 515' «'"■ See^^.
60
CHINESE MUSIC.
The ch'in is used for what is called elegant music (H H). It is supposed to be the special
instrument of the educated classes ; and yet, it is somewhat neglected by the present generation,
being scarcely met with except at imperial ceremonies. This may be attributed to the fact
that playing on the ch'in is surrounded with difficulties enough to deter the most willing
learners.l^ The notation, for instance, is quite peculiar : each note being a compound of several
simple characters, so arranged as to convey at once to the eye of the performer the note to
be played, the string to be chosen, the finger to be used, etc. The principal signs are the
following : —
Right Hand.
^■ indicates that the right hand alone is to play the note.
— , H, H; 0. etc., indicate what string is to be played, the ist, 2nd, etc.
^ indicates that the thumb must push the string outward.
P
L
n
T
r
i) }}
»
inward.
index „
outward.
>? >»
jj
inward.
middle finger „
s?
)>
)) "
)?
outward.
ring-finger „
»
inward.
^
„ ,, „ outward.
two strings must be played at the same time, fifths or octaves,
index must beat several strings in succession,
same string must be played by the index and middle finger
in succession,
same string must be played by two or three fingers together,
in order to re-enforce the sound.
Left Hand.
^ indicates the thumb.
J^ „ „ fore-finger.
^ , „ middle finger.
9 " " ring-finger.
— ^ ^, ^, pg, etc., up to ^, {i.e. Nos. i to 13) indicate at what stud the finger
must press on the string.
CHINESE MUSIC.
61
These simple characters and a number of others are brought together in various ways
to form compound characters. Thus, if the player meets with the character ^/ he will know
at once that he has to pull rapidly the seventh string forward and backward with the fore-
linger ; if he should meet the character ^,^ he would place the middle finger of the left hand
opposite the seventh stud on the second string, and give an inward motion to that string with
the middle finger of the right hand.
It is easily perceived that such complicated directions are difficult to learn and to
remember, and that endless studies are necessary to master this instrument.
At the Confucian ceremonies there are six eh'in : three on the east side of the hall, and
the three others on the west. The music which they have to perform is written in the sim-
plest manner, but it is permitted them to embeUish their part with all the difficulties which
their skiU will allow of
Formerly the seven strings were tuned as follows : —
1234567
C D E G A C i)
1 Composed of TfC (index of right hand to be moved inward), L, (index to be moved outward), and ^ (seven,
i.e., the seventh string). ^ _ . , , • n
2 Composed of Ff», ^ (seven, i.e., the sevenOi stud), ^, and _ (two, m., the second strmg).
62
CHINESE MUSIC.
OWS: —
3 4 5
6
7
C D E
G
A
At present they are tuned as follows : —
I 2
G A
The scale in the special notation is thus represented : —
^ G, the 1st string to be pulled inward with the middle finger of right hand.
45 A, „ 2nd
^ C, „ 3rd
*E,
^ A,
4th
Sth
6th
7th
outward with the fore-finger
The following is the part of the ch'vn in the first strophe of the Hynm to Confucius :
Huang-chung (C) is the key-note ; pel i-tsS (A) begins the tune.
-i^'-Tt'^
t^—
r"*"
^=H
—
o
1 — ^ — 1
—& —
fo<>^ <^
f?
— Ih—
-.^—^ —
-^-
((?i 1
^
is
\^J \
Ml
r>
^ II
fe
r^
" II ^-^
^
KX)
1 II 1 ^
•7
n
-©-
'^ HI
II
gs '^
— l^^
'^^
-rr^
m 1
II 1
II
^ £ A ^ _
IS ^ S ^ M
^ ^ ^ ^ ^
n n n ^ ^
^ ^ ^ ^ jg
m n m m "^
No. 20. — The Be (|g) is said to have been invented by P'AO Hsi (jg \^, and to have
had originally 50 strings. It is recorded that "when a certain Miss Su (^) was one day
performiag on the se in the presence of the Emperor Huang Ti (^ <;^), the strains of the
instrument impressed him so deeply and rendered him so sorrowful that he forthwith ordered
the number of strings to be reduced by one-half." ^
The se" is made on the principle of the ck'in, and, hke that instrument, has been made
the subject of numerous allegorical comparisons. The number of strings has varied, having
been sometimes 27 or 25, sometimes 19 or 23 ; but the se now in use has 25 strings. Each
string is elevated on a movable bridge. These bridges represent the five colours : the first
five are blue, the next red, the five in the middle are yellow, and then come five white, and
lastly five black.
There are four kinds of se, differing only in dimensions, — the longest measuring 81
inches.
See ^ f|. chap. 5.
CHINESE MUSIC.
63
o
The se" is used chiefly at imperial and religious ceremonies. At the Temple of Confucius
four se are required: two on the east and two on the west of the hall. The notation is in
principle the same as that of the ch'in, but the characters are doubled, because the se always
plays two notes at one time. The scale of the se" is as follows : —
^
:il
-e
^ ^
1
i
ij
i
64
CHINESE MUSIC.
Each, of these characters indicates which strings are to be plaj^ed together. The ae when
well tuned is supposed to give five octaves. Below is the p^rt played \>j the se in the Con-
fucian Hymn, first verse : —
Huang-chung (C) is the key-note ; pei i-tse (A) begins the air.
-&- -is. :^ 1=: z=
jSi.
M'^ - - "
TT
-^- -i2.
-S2- -&-
i
js:.
IZ.
-&-
zz
^^ f^ II
k %% m m m
_^. _r2 -^
22-
J22:.
a
m
»
2Z
-iS^
TT"
-<S>-
-^-
i M
22:
:s:
:s:
No. 21 — The TsSng (|^) is exactly the same as the se' in form and principle; but it is
smaller and has only 14 strings, all elevated on movable bridges. It is used in preference to
the sS at imperial receptions and on joyful occasions. The notation is identical with that
of the se.
No. 22. — The P'i-p'a (f| ^), or "balloon guitar," is about 3 feet long, and i foot wide in
the body. It has four silk strings which are said to represent the four seasons. This and some
other allegories enforce the belief that the p'i-p'a has a more or less ancient origin, but the date
of its introduction is not known with certainty.
CHINESE MUSIC.
65
There is a slight difference between the instruments made in the South and those
manufactured in Peking; the former are of better workmanship, but the fingering and the
music are everywhere the same. On the neck table there are ii or 12 frets, intended to guide
the player. The strings are tuned : 0, F, G, C, or as the Chinese say, ho {^), shang (Ji), ch'ih
(R), lin (^).
This instrument being chiefly used on joyful occasions in connexion with the flute, the
strings ' are of course tuned after the pitch of the flute ; but in private the performer tunes
it to the pitch which pleases him best.
In the -South, the p'i-p'a is the instrument preferred by troubadours who are hired to
sing ballads, songs, etc. ; and in the North it is generally played by men. The performer has
to exercise great dexterity of finger and Kghtness of hand, for not only is the music always of
anipiated movement, but nearly all the notes are played in tremolo, which effect is obtained by
passing the nail or the plectrum rapidly fonvard and backward on the string.
By pressing the first string successively over aU the frets the following scale is
produced : —
i
J J ttJ 1
Open string, ist fret, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5 th (the others are not used).
The second string produces :-
j> J 1 h 'I ^
S
^^M
i
Open string, ist fret, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, loth, nth.
The third string produces :
i
u - , 1 it-^^
i
Open string, ist fret, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, sth, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, loth, nth.
The fourth string produces : —
1 ^^ -*r »^ M:
^ s ^ i E l
^
Open String, ist fret, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, sth, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, loth, nth.
66
CHINESE MUSIC.
The whole extent of the p'i-p'a's scale is therefore the foUowing : —
i
:?-^
^
i
1 1 *i^
jt
etc.
I
But the frets which produce chromatic notes or half tones are never used. Probably in
past ages, when music was cultivated as an art, these frets were employed to transpose airs
into other keys ; but it is nowhere recorded that they ever served to produce chromatic runs.
The p'i-p'a has no special notation. Being a popular instrument, and never required at
rehgious ceremonies, it is played mostly by bHnd persons who acquire their musical knowledge
by rote. There are, however, song-books for the p'i-p'a in which the ordinary notation ('^,0,
^, etc.) is used.
No. 23. — The ShvMng-ch'in (H ^) is an octagonal guitar with a long neck furnished
with frets. It is made of hard wood, and has four strings tuned in pairs, with the distance of a
fifth between the two pairs. It is played with a plectrum; but it is now rarely used, the cost
placing it beyond the reach of ordinary musicians.
No. 24.— The San-hsien (^ |^), " or three-stringed guitar," has a shallow cylindrical body,
the top and bottom of which are covered with snake skin. It has a long neck (without frets)
and three strings, which are timed sometimes C, F, C (z^, _t, ■j^), but more frequently C, D, A
i'^, 0, X)- It is sometimes played with the finger, but oftener with a plectrum. It is one of
tlie favourite instruments of street ballad-singers.,
No. 25.— The Yueh-ch'in (^ -p), or "moon guitar," is so called because the shape of the
CHINESE MUSIC. 67
body resembles a full moon ; there is a variety, however, the body of which is octagonal. The
neck, which is short, is furnished with frets for the convenience of the player. The four strings
are tuned in pairs at the distance of a fifth. In some places the strings are made of copper
instead of silk. This instrument is used, together with the p'i-p'a or san-hsien, to accompany
ballads, songs, etc.
No. 26. — The Hu-ch'in (^ ^), or " vioHn," has a hollow cylindrical body the upper end
of which is covered with snake skin, while the lower is left open. The body is pierced by a long
arm, to which are attached four silk strings. These strings are tuned, the first and third ^^ (or
C), the second and fourth f^ (or G). The bow passes between the strings, so that it requires
close attention to play without touching the wrong string. The body is sometimes a round
tube of bamboo, of wood, or of copper ; sometimes it is octagonal in shape and is ornamented
with little pieces of ivory. It is of varying size, the smallest having only two strings.
The hu-ch'in is rarely seen in the South, but in Peking it is one of the most popular
instruments. It is not difficult to learn (except the management of the bow), and it does not
extend over one octave ; moreover, it is comparatively cheap.
No. 27. — The Erh-hsien (~ ^), or " two-stringed violin," is in principle exactly the same
as the hu-ch'in, but it never has more than two strings. It is still more popular than the
hu-ch'in, for it is met with all over China. Its form varies. Sometimes it is a hollow bamboo
tube, and is then called Pf Pf (hu-hu) ; sometimes it is simply half a cocoanut shell, and is
then called P0 ^ (t'i-ch'in) ; but no matter what its form may be or what material it is made
of, it has always only two strings, which are tuned at a distance of a fifth from each other,
and between which the bow passes.
The lower classes in China seem to be very fond of this rather unattractive instrument,
of which foreigners have formed a decidedly poor opinion; but if we reflect that it is often
played without taste or feeling, if we consider its cheapness and the simpHcity of its form, and
if we learn for ourselves that it is really capable of producing agreeable sounds, there wiU
then be no reason to find fault with the inventor or the invention.
No. 28. The Tang-ch'in {f^ ^), or "foreign harpsichord," has the form of a rectangillar,
trapezoidal, or oval box, about 2 feet long, i foot broad, and 4 inches high. When the lid
which covers and protects the sounding-board is removed, one finds a range of fine metallic
wires, disposed in sets of two, three, or four to each note, decreasing in length from the base
9
68
CHINESE MUSIC.
upward, and fastened at both sides by nails. On the sounding-board there are two bridges,
perforated with seven or eight holes each, over and under which the strings are stretched ; and
the strings which pass over the first bridge have to pass through the opposite holes of the
second bridge, and vice versd. There are ordinarily i6 sets of strings, eight passing over the
right bridge and through the holes of the left bridge, and eight passing over the left bridge
and through the holes of the right bridge. This arrangement consequently affords four series
of notes, one on each side of each bridge ; but only three series are in general use. The series
of notes given by the strings on the right side of the right bridge is not used.
The strings are tuned with a key in the same manner as our pianos. The scale produced
is the following : —
Left side of right bridge:
'^^' 4 ^ ^ ^
s
s
Right side of left bridge: ■
<^^ J J J h '^ ^ ^ ^ I
Left side of left bridge:
i
T 1 ^ ' 1 "T^
CHINESE MUSIC.
69
The yang-ch'in is played with two light slips of bamboo, and it is capable of producing
extremely pleasing sounds when well played. It may sometimes be heard together with the
violin and the guitar, accompanying songs and ballads.
4°. BAMBOO.
One would think that bamboo ought not to be distinguished from wood ; but, according
to Chinese ideas, there .is a very great difference between these two substances. Bamboo is
neither properly a tree nor yet a simple plant, but it partakes the quahties of both these
products. Its manifold uses have caused it to be considered a peculiar material, particularly
useful in music.
No. 29. — The P'ai-hsiao (^ ^). The Chinese were a long time in discovering that a
tube pierced at different places may be made to produce as many sounds as there are holes by
merely stopping these holes one after the other. In order to get the various sounds, the ancient
Chinese used as many tubes as, there were sounds ; these tubes fastened together produced the
p'ai-hsiao, or " Pandean pipes." The first instrument of this kind was made by the Emperor
Shun ■,^ it was a collection of 10 tubes, gradually decreasing in length and connected together
in a rough manner by silk cord. In subsequent ages the number of tubes was increased
to 12, then to 16, and even to 24; at present, the p'ai-hsiao has invariably 16 tubes.
These tubes are arranged upon a frame more or less carved and ornamented; they cor-
respond to the 12 lils and the first four Ms of the grave series, and emit exactly the
same notes as the bell and stone chimes. The sounds of this instrument represent the
voice of the feng-hvMng, or phffinix; and the form of the frame typifies this bird with
its wings spread.^ The tubes which give the notes corresponding to the yang Ms, or
# # + t is 1-
^ I'i' ^ iS
70
CHINESE MUSIC.
"positive tones," are grouped together on the left side of the instrument; the ymliis, or
" negative tones," are arranged on the right side. The notes produced by the tubes, according
to their position, are the following : —
^' ^ 4 U U '^ '
S
S, 6,
7,
m
i
i
t
-^ b-J- F^
10, II, 12, 13, 14, IS, 16.
The p'ai-hsiao is used only in ritual music. Two are employed at the Confucian
ceremonies, placed respectively on the east and west sides of the hall. The music performed
by them is exactly the same as that of the stone chime.
No. 30.— The Yileh (^) was a short flute with three holes, and blown at the end.
Formerly it was used by the dancers, and was occasionally played to indicate their movements ;
at present, although the dancers stiU use the yiieh in their evolutions, it is no longer a flute
but simply a stick.
No. 31. — The Gh'ih (^) is a flute measuring about 14 inches in length. It is now blown
transversely, but was formerly blown in the middle. The number of holes varies between
6 and 10, and even more. It has gradually become obsolete, its place being taken by simpler
instruments.
No. 32. — The Hsiao (||).is said to have been invented by a certain JR (^ (Yeh Chung)
during the Han dynasty.
This flute is a tube of dark brown bamboo, measuring about 1.8 feet in length. It has
five holes above, one below, and one at the end, through which it is played. Flutes of this
kind were formerly made of copper, of jadestone, or of marble, such materials being thought
less liable than wood to be affected by changes of temperature. They were introduced into
ritual music during the Yiian dynasty (circa AD. 1300); and under the present dynasty their
use has been confined to ritual music. At the Confucian ceremonies there are six hsiao, placed
immediately outside the hall, on the " Moon Terrace." The music which they perform is exactly
the same as that of the other instruments, but it is noted in a different manner. The following
is the ordinary scale of the hsiao : —
1 "^ 1 1 T
i
^
;l
••»
± IK \x M i^< m
(K
foreign D).
These notes are produced by stopping the holes one after the other, just as with
European flutes.
CHINESE MUSIC.
71
No. 33. — The Ti-tz'& (!§■ J-) is the flute ordinarily met with ia China. It is a tube bound
round with waxed silk and sometimes ornamented with tassels. It has eight holes : one to
blow through, one covered with a thin reedy membrane, and six to be played upon by the
fingers. There are, besides, several other holes at the end, but these are of no practical use
except to attach the silk tassels and other ornaments. The fingering of this instrument is of
course the same as that of all instruments of the flute kind, and the notation is the same as
that of the hsiao, except that the ti-tzU is a fourth higher. This is the scale : —
5
1111^
^^
( A^ ^ foreign A, 902 vibrations per second).
The sounds emitted by Chinese flutes cannot properly be rendered in European notation,
some being sharper and others flatter than the sounds represented by our notes ; but this
may be due as much to the ignorance of instrument-makers as to the irregularity of the
intervals of the Chinese scale. Besides, the Chinese are not very particular in regard to pitch,
and any shocking deficiency in justness of tone they manage to remedy by blowing harder
or softer.
72
CHINESE MUSIC.
The ti-tz'& is indispensable to every Chinese orchestra; it is used in theatrical performances,
in funeral and marriage processions, and on various other occasions, both joyous and mournful.
It is also one of the favourite instruments of courtesans.
Formerly all kinds of flutes blown transversely were called 'g (ti). There were the
ch'iang-ti {% H), the shepherd's flute; the ^ ^ (Mng-ti), the transverse flute; the ^ %
{oh'ang-ti), and the ^ 1^ (tuan-ti), the long and the short flute. Some had four holes, some
five, and some seven. Nowadays the form and number of holes of the ti-tzii are in all cases
much the same. The only difference between the popular instruments and the flutes used
in ritual music is that the latter are embelhshed with a dragon's head and a dragon's tail, an
addition not permitted in the case of ordinary instruments. Flutes thus adorned are called
H U (lung-ti), dragon flutes. Of these, six are used at the Confucian ceremonies; they are
placed, together with the hsiao, three on each side.
No. 34. — The Kuan-tz-Q, (^ ^) is a small tube about 8 inches long. It has seven holes
above and two below. It is blown by means of a coarsely made reed inserted at the upper
end. Its sound cannot be said to be pleasing, at least to foreign ears. It is used mostly in
funeral or marriage processions. It produces the following scale : —
J ^ y
^
i
^=^
^
O
CD
PL.
±
n R
;l
/\
\L {h
3
o
•S
p..
c
^1
P
&
^
' 2
a
!^
^
CD
P
ni
CO
P
en
&.
The intervals of this scale suffer from the same defects as those of the ti-tzU. The
£j (hou) is an ancient note no longer used. The J^ (or G) of this scale corresponds as nearly
as possible to the European A (902 vibrations per second).
No. 35. — The So-na (^^ p^) — known to foreigners as the "Chinese clarionet" — is the most
shrieking, the most detestable instrument used in China ; and yet none is in more general use.
When heard in the morning its sounds unmistakably announce a funeral cortege ; in the
afternoon, a nuptial procession.
CHINESE MUSIC.
73
The so-na consists of a wooden pipe fitted with a copper bell. It has seven holes on the
upper side and one on the lower for the thumb. The mouthpiece is a small reed (like that
of the European oboe) affixed to the upper end. It gives he following scale : —
^^
t
There are two varieties, differing only in size ; the smaller kind is called H ^ (k'ai-ti).
The X Ocung) (or A) of the so-na is nearly identical with our A (902 vibrations per second).
The tunes played on this instrument at processions are in themselves very pretty and original,
but the instrument is so false, and the ignorant player blows with so little regard to justness
and softness, that it requires indeed great attention to detect and note them.
S". WOOD.
It is not known to whom the introduction of wooden instruments in music may be
attributed, but wood is one of the productions of Nature so useful to man that it must have
been given a place ia music from the earliest ages.
No. 36. — The Ghu (|5l) resembles a square box, but it is larger at the top than at the
bottom. It should measure at the top 2.4 feet on each side, and at the bottom 1.8 feet.
The height should be also 1.8 feet. But these dimensions are not adhered to. In the middle
of the box there is a hammer, so contrived as to move right ^nd left ; and in one of the sides
is a hole through which to pass the hand. The ancient chu was made of ^ ||| (wu-t'ung)
wood. The interior is painted yellow, and the sides blue, red, black, and white. It is adorned
with landscapes, figures of fabulous animals, etc. It is used only at religious ceremonies. At
74
CHINESE MUSIC.
the Confucian temple there is one only, placed on the east side of the hall. It gives two sounds
at the beginning of each strophe.
No. 37. — The Yii, (gj;) has the form of a tiger resting on a rectangular box. It should
be 3.6 feet in length, 1.8 feet in width, and i foot high. The tiger has on its back 27
teeth, resembling a saw. At the end of each strophe the attendant strikes the tiger three
times on the head, and rapidly passes his stick three times along the projections on the back, to
annoimce the end of the strophe. The yii is placed on the west side of the Confucian hall.
No. 38. — The P'ai-pan (fg ^), or " castanets," are two small slabs of a kind of red-wood
iW. /t») attached together with silk cord, and on which a third slab of the same kind of wood is
struck to beat time. These are ia common use in popular orchestras. An ancient kind of
Castanet consisted of 12 smaU slabs of bamboo fastened together, upon which poetry was engraved;
it was named § Ifg (ch'un-tu), and was used at religious ceremonies. Nowadays the ch'un-tu has
been replaced at the Confucian ceremonies by another kind of castanet called ^ j}^ (shou-pan).
The slabs of the shou-pan are of ^ (huai) wood, 1.35 feet long, -j^ inch thick, 2.5 inches broad
at the lower 'end, and only 2 inches at the upper end. The words of the hymn are engraved
on it. Each of the six singers has charge of one shou-pan; at each word they strike the
slabs against the palm of the hand.
No. 39. — The Mu-yii (jfc ^,) or " wooden fish," is made of a block of wood hoUowed out
and shaped somewhat like a skull. It is painted red all over, and is of all sizes, up to i foot in
diameter. It is used by priests to mark time in the recitation of prayers when begging from
door to door or in performing their ceremonies.
CHINESE MUSIC.
75
6°. SKIN.
From the remotest ages the Chinese seem to have been acquainted with instruments of
percussion, of which the tanned skin of animals was the vibrating medium. Drums made of
baked clay, filled with bran and covered with skin, were the first in use. The idea of drums
seems, however, to have come from the nations of Central Asia.^ Of all the Chinese drums
none are braced by cords ; the skin is fastened on with nails.
No. 40. — The Ghin-hu (^ ^S) i^ ^-^^o called ^ ^" st (Ta-ch'eng-ku), because it is ordinarily
placed on the left side of the Ta-cU'eng ga.te. At the Peking Confucian temple it is suspended
in the eastern pagoda, and corresponds to the large bell hung in the western pagoda. It is
about ,5 feet in diameter.
No. 41. — The Ying-hu {^ ^) is a drum suspended in a frame by four rings and beaten
on the upper surface with two sticks. It is about 3 feet high and 2 feet in diameter. It is
richly painted and ornamented with birds, dragons, flowers, etc. Its place at the Confucian
worship is on the east side of the "Moon Terrace." It is beaten three times at the end of
each verse. Under the Sui (f^) dynasty this kind of drum was called ^ ^ (chien-ku).
mmm'^y^^-
10
76
CHINESE MUSIC.
No. 42. — The Tsu-lcu (J£ ^), also called Jg ^ (ymg-Jcu) is a large drum, used at the
Confucian ceremonies to correspond with the ying-hu. It is placed on the west side of the
" Moon Terrace," and is struck six times at the end of each verse, giving two beats in answer
to each of the three beats of the ying-hu. '
The tsu-ku is not quite so large as the ying-hu, and it is supported horizontally by a
pedestal which raises it about 4 feet from the ground. For a long time this drum was out of
use; but it reappeared again in the 13th year of Ch'ien Lung (A.D. 1748).
No. 43. — The Po-fu (JJ f^') i^ ^ small drum 1.4 feet in length, and 7 inches in diameter.
The table on which it rests is i foot high. The po-fu is used only in reHgious ceremonies.
At the Confucian temple there are two — one on the left, the other on the right side of the hall.
In playing, the performer holds the drum on his knees and beats it with the hands. The po-fu
gives three notes at the end of each verse answering to the two notes of the tsu-ku. The
following are the three beats with the notation : —
(^ Beat the drum with the right hand.
^ „ „ „ both hands.
CHINESE MUSIC.
77
No. 44.— The- T'ao-Jcu (|^ f^) has a handle passing through the barrel. Two balls are
J suspended by strings from the barrel, and when the drum is twirled they strike against the
78
CHINESE MUSIC.
heads. Of drums of this kind used at the Confucian ceremonies there are two, placed on the
east and west sides respectively ; they are sounded three times at the end of each verse. They
measure i foot in length and i foot in diameter. Anciently, the t'ao-ku used in ritual music was
composed of two or more drums transfixed by a handle ; sometimes it was composed of several
small drums hung together upon a frame, and struck only on one head by the balls,. Such
drums are now out of use.
The t'ao-Jeu is the special instrument by means of which the itinerant vendor of millinery
goods makes known his whereabouts ; but his drum is smaller and has generally a small gong
on the upper side.
CHINESE MUSIC.
79
No. 45.— The Pang-ku (f P ^) is a small flat drum, with a hody of wood ; the top is
covered with skin and the bottoin is hollow. The diameter of the head is about 6 inches. It
rests on a wooden tripod. It ,is chiefly used in popular orchestras to beat time and accompany
songs and ballads.
Besides the drums here enumerated, the Chinese possess several other kinds, varying from
S inches to several feet in diameter. They have the "tambour de basque," the tambourine,
and barrel drums of all kinds ; some are richly ornamented with silk piece goods, some very
simple and unadorned ; but it would take too much space to describe them all.
7°. GOURD.
The gourd was introduced among the musical instruments by the ancient Chinese to
represent plants and herbs. It is called f| (p'ao), and its shell is at once thin and hard. Its
hollow form rendered it available, and they made the sheng. Nowadays, however, wood has
been substitued for the calabash, a change which does not seem to have made much difference
in the sound.
No. 46. — The SMng (|g) is an instrument intended to symbolise the feng-huang or
Phoenix. The body or wind-chest is made of gourd, or simply of wood, and in its upper part
tubes of different length are inserted. These tubes are of five different lengths, and are so
arranged as to resemble the tail of a bird, the middle tubes being the longest. The length
of the tubes does not, however, make the sounds graver, for several of them have an aperture
at a distance from the top which renders their length ineffective. The tubes in the lower
portion are furnished with reeds exactly like those of our accordions ; a little above the reeds the
tubes are pierced so as to prevent their sounding, except by stopping the holes.
80
CHINESE MUSIC.
Dr. F. Warkington Eastlake, whose -designs of the different forms of the sMng I have
here inserted, has made, a special study of this instrument and has written extensively on the
subject.^ It is difficult to give a better and more complete description than his, and I will
I " China Review,'' August 1882.
CHINESE MUSIC. 81
therefore content myself with quoting the principal paragraphs of his work, only adding a few
remarks where necessary : —
"The invention of the sMng is shrouded with the obscurity of the mythical ages. Tradition attributes
its invention to a mythical female sovereign who succeeded Fuh-hi, known as ^ jj^ (Nij-wo). Be this as
it may, there can be no doubt that the sMng itself is of great antiquity ; for not only do we fin,d frequent
mention of the instrument in the 'She' and 'Shoo-king,' but the commentators on ancient musical instni-
ments invai-iably mention the great age of the sMng, and seem to delight in speaking of it as a proof
of the inventive genius and musical talent of the ancient Chinese It may well be
possible that the ^ ^ (p'ai-hsicKi) (which see) was the prototype of the sMng. The date of the invention
of the p'ai-hsiao must at all events be earlier than that of the sMng, to which it bears unmistakable
resemblance
" From the Classics we learn that the sMng held a leading position among the instruments which
were in favour at the Imperial Court : —
' When to the Prince our way we've made.
We sit and hear the organs played."
" The sheng is frequently mentioned in the ' She-king,' e.g.
' The lutes are struck, the organ blows
Till all its tongues in movement heave.'^
' The drums loud sound, the organ swells
Their flutes the dancers wave.'^
"According to the 'Erh-ya" and 'Shuo-win,'^ there are, or rather were, two distinct forms of the
sheng : the largest, and probably more ancient, known as the ^ (ck'ao), or ' bird's nest,' the smaller known
as the |B (Ao), or 'concord' The scale of these two instruments must have been
different, as the one had 19, the other 13 reeds ...... The modem sheng differs in many
essential points from the ch'ao and ho The sheng consists of three separate parts, —
the gourd, the mouth-piece, and the . . . tubes. In shape the gourd is very much like a tea-cup,
and about as large It is (sometimes) perforated at the base and inlaid with a small piece
of bone or ivory, also perforated The ' gourd ' was formerly made from a sort of calabash,
but nowadays it is made of wood and lacquered.
" The mouth-piece consists of two separate parts, — the mouth-piece proper, made of wood, lacquered
and inserted into the gourd, and a bone or ivory plate which covers the free end
"There are 17 pipes in all. Every pipe, except the non-sounding or mute, i, 9, 16, 17,' is
composed of two pieces; the upper part bamboo, the lower part of some hard wood, probably teak.
The lower part of each sounding-pipe is so cut as to admit of a small brass tongue,
exactly after the model of European reed-tongues. The tongues ... are rudely fastened in with
wax. Every sound-producing pipe has a slit on the inner side which serves to modify or intensify its tone.
The tone of most of the reeds is rather sweet and soft, but some are harsh, and one or two almost inaudible.
" Each sound-giving pipe has a ventage which must be stopped by the finger in order to produce
the proper note. This ventage is on the outside of pipes 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 ; on the inside
of pipes 3 and 4 The pipes represent in all 11 notes. Pipes 2 and 6 produce the
same note; 12 gives the octave of 15, as does 13 of 14, and 11 of 7."
' " She-king", L, XI, i. ' II, I, i. ^ II,' VH, VI. '' An ancient dictionary of terms.
5 An ancient dictionary, published A.D. 100.
6 Counting from the farthest pipe on the right side of the mouth-piece, i, 2, 3, 4, etc.
82 CHINESE MUSIC.
The scale I have myself ascertained to be as foUows : —
■ ■ ^ ' ^
Notes :
K
I
;l
£
—
±
4R
11
1H.
i/:
Tubes :
IS
7
s
14
4
3
2
12
II
10-
13
The JZ of the sAe'ngf is about our A (902 vibrations per second).
At the Confucian ceremonies there are six sMng., three on the east and three on the west
side of the hall. They play exactly the same music and the same notes as the ti-tzU, or " flute."
The sMng is never used in popular orchestras ; at nuptial and funeral processions the sh4ng is
sometimes seen, but it is there merely for form's sake, in accordance with the requirements of the
rites, and the hired coolie who carries it simply simulates playing.
Dr. Eastlake further says : —
"One very rarely hears the sMng nowadays, on account of a curious superstition. The Chinese
say that a skilful performer on the sMnff becomes so wedded to its music that he is ever playing; but
the instrument is played by sucking in the breath, and a long continuance of this brings on inflammation
of the bronchial tubes and diseases of the lungs. So no performer is ever known to live longer than
40 years ! The instrument, in playing, is inclined slightly towards the right shoulder ; the forefinger
of the right hand commands pipes 3 and 4, the thumb 2, 5, 6, 7. The other pipes are controlled by the
first and second fingers and thumb of the left hand.
"That the sheng is one of the most important of Chinese musical instruments is apparent. No
other instrument is nearly so perfect, either for sweetness of tone or delicacy of construction. The
principles embodied in it are substantially the same as those of our grand organs. Indeed, according
to various writers, the introduction of the sJieng into Europe led to the invention of the accordion and
the harmonium. Kratzbnstbin, an organ-builder of St. Petersburg, having become the possessor of a
sheng, conceived the idea of applying the principle to organ-stops "
8°. EARTH.
It was of absolute necessity that earth, the common mother of all things, should occupy
a respectable place in music, and therefore the hsiian was invented.
No. 47. — The Hsuan (:l||), or " Chinese ocarina," was invented by P'AO Hsi (;g %) some
2,700 years before our era.
CHINESE MUSIC.
83
It is a reddish-yellow cone of baked clay or porcelain, ornamented with designs of
dragons, clouds, etc., and pierced with six holes : one at the apex to blow through, three in front,
and two behind.
When played, it is held firmly with both hands. According to a native description, it
emits the following sounds : —
i
5
A\
s
R
and at the Confucian ceremonies the two hsilan, placed one on the west and the other on the
east side of the hall, play the same music as the hsiao flute. But as it is almost impossible to
procure a specimen of this instrument, we have to rely on Chinese accounts of it.
11
84 CHINESE MUSIC.
CONCLUSION.
The question is often asked — Why does not Chinese music leave a better impression on
the ears and minds of foreigners ? Most naturally because it has not been made for foreigners.
But from a theoretical point of view we may say that it is because : —
1°. The intervals of the Chinese scale not being tempered, some of the notes sound
to foreign ears utterly false and discordant.
2°. The instruments not being constructed with the rigorous precision which charac-
terises our European instruments, there is no exact justness of intonation,
and the Chinese must content themselves with an a peu pr^.
3°. The melodies being always in unison, always in the same key, always equally
loud and unchangeable in movement, they cannot fail to a})pear wearisome
and monotonous in comparison with our complicated melodies.
4°. Chinese melodies are never » definitely major nor minor; they are constantly
floating between the two, and the natural result is that they lack the vigour,
the majesty, the sprightliness, the animation of our major mode ; the plaintive
sadness, the tender lamentations of our minor mode ; and the charniing effects
resulting from the alternation of the two modes.
It is incontestable that Chinese music compares unfavourably with. European music.
From our point of view it certainly appears monotonous, even noisy — disagreeable, if you please ;
but what matters this if the Chinese themselves are satisfied with it ? And that they are
satisfied, that they like it, that it is a necessity for them, is fully proved by the constant use of
music in their ceremonies and festivities; by the numerous bands parading the streets and
offering their services; by the strict attention with which they listen to the ballad singers, —
now exhibiting emotion at an affecting picture of suffering, now bursting into hearty laughter
when the subject is of an amusing kind ; and finally, by the large variety of instruments which,
although often played without taste or feeling, are nevertheless remarkable for their beautiful
simplicity of form, and their extreme cheapness. According to the Chinese themselves, music
proceeds from the heart of man ; it is the expression of the feelings of the heart.
gMs^ig^
rf- ■*-
'tfi-'
;#.
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." . .T'^
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